Hello Lloyd and All,

> Having the first super be drawn comb is one of several lazy man's way of =
> swarm control, but is not absolutely necessary and may be undesirable if =
> the object is to produce comb honey.

The main reason beekeepers on occasion put a drawn super on first is to keep
from getting a comb honey super laced with bitter tasting red pollen in our
area of the Midwest. I super early with drawn and then pull the drawn comb
off the hive I choose for comb honey production or simply place the comb
honey super on top  of the nectar filled first drawn super.
In other areas of the U.S. pollen in comb honey supers may not be a big
problem but  comb foundation put on before the flow starts is only wax for
bees to move around. New beekeepers need to know when the flow starts and
what better indicator than a half filled drawn super? I only find the red
pollen in the first super but I have had supers of comb honey made
unmarketable by red pollen but only when put on directly over the brood
nest. . If you do get pollen in the comb honey squares the comb can be cut
into bite size squares and put in jars, filled with honey and sold as chunk
honey. The small squares with pollen can be fed back to the bees. Comb honey
is not cost effective in my operation and less so if I have to do extra work
to get a marketable product.
We do three farmers markets a week and sell comb honey all summer. three or
four sections a outing is about it. I keep two freezers running year around
to store the comb honey in (not cheap). I process the amount I need each
time I bottle. Comb honey adds to the display but most prefer a small bear.
Our biggest profit margin is the 12 oz. bear. We get buyers which buy a 12
oz. bear each week all summer long. I guess they never think of buying a
gallon and a bear and refilling all summer. Many beekeepers are reporting
switching to the new angel 12 oz. plastic  and report a increase in sales.
Has any beekeepers on the list tried the plastic 12 oz. angels and seen a
increase in sales?
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison