> The best possition for foundation is the side of the brood nest.
> This means foundation should be inserted between the so called
> "cover comb" containing honey and pollen and the first brood comb
> and than again on the other side of the hive between the last brood
> comb and the other cover comb. This arrangment should allow the
> colony to produce wax and use it most economically.
 
Hmmmm.
 
I have some concerns about this particular position for the
following reason: since it is not in the centre, there is not as
much incentive for the bees to draw the foundation fully.
 
If if the bees refuse, these bare sheets reduce the effective width
of the brood nest and number of contiguous combs available for winter
stores -- unless the beekeeper comes back and re-arranges the brood
chamber in the fall. Although the hive may be heavy, the bees may not
have enough food in contiguous combs in the top box to last a long
winter.
 
I personally *hate* to disturb brood chamber arrangements in the
fall. We are short of staff, busy with other things and sometimes
have weather problems, and, besides, we know from experience that
such manipulations are a great way to have colonies die unexplained
deaths over winter.  This is true in this northern country, but this
is not to say that the recommendation might not suit a smaller
operation with more intensive hive management or warmer climes.
 
The reason I mention all this is that I did just what is recommended
in the above quote with some splits this year, and some of them are
going through winter with partially drawn and filled combs in both
sides -- second comb in from the outside.
 
I now wish I had put the foundation either in the centre, or at the
very outside.  (We had some very bad problems here with a very
long-lasting and debilitating flu this year, and in spite of our best
planning were unable to manage these hives as closely as we would
have liked (in total there are less than 400 of these particular
splits and most are okay, so I guess it isn't a big deal, but...)).
 
BTW, one of the big advantages of the new plastic foundations is
that they can be inserted in place of outside combs and used like
follower boards.  It matters not at all that they may not be drawn
for several years. They are then handy to move further in when the
need arises.
 
> The brood put above the excluder should be situated just abowe the
> brood combs below and covered with combs of honey from the sides
> what enables the colony to form a cluster during nights or eventual
> cold spells etc.
 
This is a very important point that seems obvious to most of us, but
bears repeating.
 
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
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