I grumbled:

>> It's amazing how few beekeepers have any
>> sort of frame age-tracking system in place.

Denise asked:

> Would you and others please expound on the system you use?

I don't have to expound - you do!
You "expound" a colored thumbtack into each frame.  :)

I buy colored thumbtacks that match the queen-marking
colors, and when building new frames, or when reloading
a frame with fresh foundation, use the hammer to sink a
tack flush with the top surface of the top bar.  This
means that I can know the age of a frame at a glance
(assuming that I replace all brood comb in all hives
within 5 years, as the colors repeat every 5 years).

Each year, frames with the color indicating that they
are 5 years old are removed and replaced with fresh
frames, and the old ones are melted and the bare frames
run through "rehab" Even the thumbtacks can be recycled
and reused.

It's just that simple!  No records to keep, no databases,
no notebooks, no real "thinking" required.

I manage extraction comb on the basis of appearance alone,
so I do not use thumbtacks for them.  But once a frame
gets a thumbtack, the wood has an indent from the head
of the tack, and the frame never gets used in a super,
which is a handy "rule of thumb(tack)" that keeps the
honey away from any possible miticide residues.

        jim

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