--- Roger Flanders <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Can anything be done to encourage straight
> comb-building in top bar
> hives after the colonies have begun building comb
> "off-center"?


Destroy the off center combs, or carefully detach
them, straighten them, and tie them to a single top
bar straight, so the bees may reattach it properly.
(Cotton string will be chewed off after they reattach
it.)

I encouraged straight combs by placing good langstroth
combs between the empty top bars of my empty TBH.  The
langstroth combs were straight. so the TB combs they
built between them were straight. I eventually removed
the langstrothe starters, and left them with only
TB's. (My TBH is sized to hold Langstroth frames when
needed.)

Even now, I only place an empty TB between two good,
straight brood combs, so that the new comb is nice and
straight.  If you place a empty bar between combs
containing honey, they will often draw the honey combs
out deeper, while working reluctantly on the new comb.
The result is a shallow  u shaped new comb that may or
may not be straight, and two older combs that have a
lumpy wavy surface of extra deep cells. The mid rib is
still straight, but the surfaces extend beyond the
face of the TB.  When this happens, I usually harvest
both of the too-deep combs, and examine the new small
comb to see if it is worth saving. (It is usually all
drone, so I usually harvest it too.)

Comb building is a genetic trait.  If you have bees
that want to build consistantly crooked comb, you may
have to requeen to get bees that will build straight.
Langstroths hives restrict how the bees may build, so
bees that don't work well in a TBH may build fine comb
in a Langstroth- so if these queens are young you may
want to move them to a langstroth hive instead. (Or
give/ trade them with a friend.)


Ellen