"Bill Gowan" asks:

>I have a bunch of plastic frames and the bees really are not building comb
>
> Is there a way I can coat these plastic frames with bee's wax?

Hi Bill,
That's the fun of plastic foundation, getting the bees to work it properly.
To answer your question on re-coating the wax foundation --- forget about
it.  Not worth it.  Spend your time working the bees with the plastic
foundation as-is.

You'll find tips & tricks on drawing plastic if you research old Bee-L posts
as we've talked about this many times.  You can mix drawn frames with
undrawn, add full deeps of undrawn, pull up brood, etc.. lot's of ways to
get the bees to work plastic and you'll find some successful on some hives &
others not.

    In your situation - if I understand your post you have bees drawing
'parallel comb' between the frames?  If so, shake off the bees and use a
hive-tool or paint scraper to mash/roll the comb onto the surface of the
frame.  Any large wax particles should be scraped/rolled enough to leave
small particles on the imprint is still revealed and the bees can pick up
right where you want them to start.    You don't have to cover the entire
frame, just a good 4"-6" dab in the center.  Make SURE to scrape off every
bit of the cell imprint the bees used to 'start' their parallel comb or
you'll find the exact same problem.  Once the bees are drawing the centers
correctly then move them apart & insert other undrawn frames.

Dipping frames in heavy sugar-water-slurry will keep them busy, letting the
frames drip-dry enough before placing them in the hive so the bees aren't
overwhelmed by sticky sugar-slurry.  Check your frames every 4 or 5 days.
If/when the bees draw out parallel comb or burr comb, simply shake off the
bees and scrape it down & throw it back in the hive.  Eventually you'll end
up with (far) superior frames than anything else you can use
(wax/duragilt/etc) considering the numerous long-term advantages over other
foundation types.  But it takes work.

Matthew Westall
E-Bees - Castle Rock, CO
-where for the first time in many years we're seeing bees work yellow clover
as a major crop instead of the usual knapweed & thistle, turning out to be a
great start --

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