Monday, May 18, 2009

Festooning and Foundationless Frames




I am totally psyched!! when it was time to put the second brood box on the new beehive, i decided to go with the foundationless frames. this is so cool folks, as it is a more organic and cheaper way to keep bees. follow the link for a good explanation about foundationless frames. i was taught i needed to buy boxes of preformed wax and this is not necessary at all folks! these pics of how my bees are doing in just a week building their own wax. truthfully, they are building their own much quicker than they ever drew out the premade foundation. in the picture where you can see the bees hanging in a line down that is called festooning. that is what they do when they are making wax! super cool! when you explore the link you will find there are several ways to get your bees started in the right direction. this first time i just used some leftover wax foundation and cut it down and just put a bit in the top of each frame and crossed my fingers. now that i see how well it works and how quick the bees work on their own, i am going to do the popsicle starters next time! hugs to everyone who visits comfrey cottages :)


3 comments:

Captain's Wife - Jennifer said...

They are soooo cool! I don't have time right now to check out the link, but I am definitely coming back to it...it is just so fascinating! Glad it is going well for you! (((hugs)))

Comfrey Cottages said...

thanks jen! when you have time check it out, cause if you ever start keeping bees too this is the way to go! hugs back at ya lady :)

Anonymous said...

nice blog! I just started with bees this spring (in IL also - 30 miles south of Peoria) - it's almost time for a 2nd super and I'm thinking of going with foundationless also - - glad to hear it is going so well for you.

good luck!
wendy