A following board is a 1x6 or 1x4 or 1x10 piece of lumber (depending
     on size of super) that is 19.5" long with two dog ears (2 strtegic
     nails will do) to fit between the brood frames and the the side of the
     box. The purpose is to keep bees from waxing the frames to the side of
     the box. A following board is more easily removed than a frame and
     makes working the bees faster and easier. It does reduce comb area by
     10%. This is usually insignificant when you are adding supers over the
     brood nest. The insulation value of this board is probably not
     significant. When you pull the following board out of one side of the
     hive, (we are supposed to work bees from the side to prevent
     disturbing guard bees) set it beside the hive and go through each
     frame then replace the following board on the other side when you are
     finished. Following boards are always the last thing to go back in a
     super hense the name "following board". I recomend their use for the
     hobby beekeeper because they are easily made and make working bees
     easier. Many commercial beekeepers use a division board feeder which
     does a similar job and allows feeding also. If you are a hobby
     beekeeper, it is easier to use entrance feeders because you do not
     need to open the hive to feed.
 
 
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Q:Anyone use Slatted Rack, Follower Board, or Cluster Rack
Author:  Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]> at internet-ext
Date:    4/9/96 12:34 PM
 
 
        I got a book from the library, "Let's Build a Bee Hive" by
Wilbert R. Miller, copyright 1976. I contains plans for building
three things I haven't seen mentioned much in other books I've
read.
 
        1. Slatted Rack - placed below the brood chamber it is
supposed to give better egg laying, less entrance congestion.
 
        2. Follower Board - the idea being that most queens won't
lay in frames next to the wall, so the follower boards provide
insulation on each wall for the reamining 9 frames.
 
        3. Cluster Rack - used between frames to provide cluster
room for the bees and cuts down on swarming activity.
 
 
        Does anyone have any experience or anecdotal knowledge
with any of these devices, either brought or constructed?
 
        Thanks