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Tue, 10 Jun 2003 19:51:35 -0400 |
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Bedford Advanced Technology Test Lab Effort |
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Looking at the problem with a gestalt view, the
fear is "rolling" or crushing bees and/or queens.
The biggest factor is that frames just do not slide
back and forth very easily due to (mostly) propolized
frame ears/lugs and (to a much lesser extent) burr comb.
I "paint" or "dip" my frame ears in wax or paraffin, and
I "paint" the thin sheet metal angle "frame rests" (in the
case of dedicated brood chambers) or the base of a Stroller
spacer (the part that remains when you pop off the 9-frame
spacer) in the case of ad-hoc use of what was a honey super
for a brood chamber.
This works well. The bees simply do not propolize a
waxed surface. Hives are a joy to work when the frames
can be nudged apart with a pinky, and the hive tool can
stay in your pocket. Offhand, I'd guess I can inspect
every frame in a hive in less than in half the time due
to this.
I have yet to need to "repaint" a frame ear with wax
while it was in the hive, but I melt down brood frames
on a rotational schedule of 5 or 6 years.
As for me, 10 frames for brood, 9 for honey supers,
no follower boards, and no complaints.
jim (Who observes that preserving bee space
is a big time saver. This is the
"Bee Space-Time Continuum".)
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-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info ---
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