Organizing wax combs plays a significant and essential role in contributing to the activity and rapid growth of colonies, maximizing economic returns from collected honey, pollen, and royal jelly, and other bee products. To learn how to organize them, read the following points:
How to Arrange Wax Combs in a Beehive
- A comb with honey on one side and empty on the other should be placed with the honey-filled side facing outward. Similarly, if one side is sealed and the other side contains unsealed honey, the comb should be placed with the sealed side outward.
- Combs with sealed honey on both sides are placed on the edges of the brood chamber, or if there is a super, on the edges of the super.
- If the honey flow is abundant and the combs in the chamber above the brood chamber are filled with honey, a new super is added as a third level. Some sealed and partially sealed honey combs are moved from the second chamber to the uppermost chamber, and new combs are placed where the moved combs were in the second chamber.
- If a comb has larvae (open brood) on one side and capped brood on the other, the combs should be arranged so that the open brood faces inward (towards the center of the hive) and the capped brood faces outward (towards the sides of the hive).
- If one side of a comb is filled with eggs or larvae, it should be adjusted so the empty side faces the center of the hive, while the filled side faces outward. This encourages the queen to continue laying eggs.
- When adding a wax foundation, it should be placed between the last comb with open brood and the first comb with capped brood to encourage bees to build it quickly. Additionally, wax foundations should be added according to the colony's strength and need to prevent scattered construction efforts and wasted energy. Random additions of foundations or combs may harm the colony.
- When adding a pre-built wax comb, it should be placed exactly in the center of the hive. This placement encourages the queen to lay eggs in it more than in other combs, as the hive center is the most suitable area for egg-laying and brood rearing. This mirrors the queen's natural behavior of laying eggs in the center of a comb and gradually expanding outward, which promotes faster growth and prosperity of the colony.
Read also >> Preparing Bee Colonies for the Honey Flow Season
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