Hi Robin & all

> Using two dummies together against the hive front wall gives the
(unproven)
> advantage of a clear space for a rising air current, generated by the
sun's
> warmth hitting the hive front if the hive faces south.

It may be unproven, but I can corroborate the findings...

Many years ago I decided to make use of the box volume under the long lugs
of the BS frame, that is to a certain extent wasted in conventional designs.
My objective was to provide a space that would not be filled with brace/burr
comb, but would be available to relieve congestion in a brood nest that was
jammed full of nectar by a short burst of productivity.

I made some boxes with panels that were sheets of plywood with a bee space
between... The object of the experiment was only partly fulfulled, but the
thin outer skin and the smooth plane surfaces gave rise to circulating
currents that kept the hive drier than it would have been otherwise.

I should also mention that in trying to keep the post on dummy frames short
and on the point, I omitted to mention another reason that I use dummies and
that is... As I have come to use the single brood box for wintering, I have
also changed over to frames that run parallel to the entrance (so called
'warm way').

One of the features of warm way frame disposition is that the first frame in
the box (nearest entrance) is often incompletely drawn, sometimes ignored
and generally a poor looking comb.

Although I would remove this dummy first I would slide the first two or
three frames to the outside as a group and only remove the frame that the
seams of bees indicated was at the start of the nest. (at least I think this
is the reason, as it is done without deliberate thought or observation, more
of a 'sixth sense')


Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman... G8MZY
Beekeeping & Bee Breeding Website
Email: [log in to unmask] or  [log in to unmask]
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman & http://www.dave-cushman.net

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