My variations to the Bailey comb change.
Start at the first blush of oilseed rape locally (if it is grown) this
means that the farmer, not you, feeds the bees and also ensures that no
bag-sugar ends up in the honey. Use only one full sheet of foundation placed
centrally to act as a bridge for the bees. The remainder of the combs are
fitted with starter strips to enable the bees to make their own decisions about
comb size and easier for them to cluster in comb drawing. The queen will
find her way aloft within a very few days and then is the time to insert the
QE between boxes. If you remove the lower box 3 weeks later you have a
chance of removing the early drone brood together with a clutch of mites.
Super with drawn comb above another QE straight away to give them somewhere
to place all the incoming nectar as they will be short of storage space.
Chris
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