a Peter Borst snip..
I don't recall if I posted this before but it reinforces the idea that the correct number frames in the US standard hive should be nine, not ten. Almost all the commercial beekeepers I have known adhere to this config

>I have used 9 frames since the time I worked for a commercial honey production outfit back in the mid 1980s.  At the time I instantly recognized the advantage in easily removing frames for inspection and splitting.  Since then (at my current location) I have noticed that ventilation is also somewhat enhanced up thru the stack. With the summer heat we get here it was not that uncommon for the outside frame on the wrong side of the hive to literally melt down when I would stuff 10 in a box < which is how I set up boxes when I am getting foundation drawn into comb. Much after the fact I did wonder about the ventilation advantage when you move bees in hot weather.

>swarm advantage I don't know but you would think it might also reduce brood nest congestion and overheating.

Gene in central Texas

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