Wonky Comb: What's Causing It And How To Fix It
By: Dodie Stillman and Chari Elam
Have you seen your bees do this?
From these photos, it's apparent that sometimes honey bees do not like building on the plastic foundation that most beekeepers like to use.
Wonky comb, crooked, off-center, askew—no matter what you call it, comb that doesn’t follow the correct path can be a real pain. Sometimes the best way to describe something is to describe what it’s not. Wonky comb is not bridge comb or burr comb or cross comb. These are actually combs built to act as ladders from one level to the next, both vertically and horizontally. Honey bees have to add wax comb to traditional Langstroth frames before they have space to store resources and lay eggs. In theory this wax is built copying the design imprinted on the plastic foundation—or not. Sometimes the bees will create a sheet of wax right over the top of the foundation without using the foundation at all. Other times they may make strips of comb on the foundation while not filling in the other areas. Either way, it’s an inefficient use of bees’ comb-building labor.
Causes And Solutions
1. Uneven or leaning hive. Solution: Keep hives level within a one-inch variant.
2. Hive is weak or hungry, lacking the resources to fully draw foundation. Solution: Feed 1:1 sugar syrup.
3. Too much space left between frames. Solution: Keep brood frames tightly pushed together and super frames equally spaced. During a light flow or until new foundation is starting to be drawn out, it is best to keep super frames tightly together.
4. Dirty or unwaxed foundation. Solution: Use a power washer or water hose with a high- pressure water nozzle to clean the frames.
With all of the above, brush away the bees, scrape the excess comb off, and let them try it again—and if necessary, coat with wax.
Other Common Areas Where Bees Draw Excess Comb
1. On the top of frames. This is called burr comb created as ladders for the bees to travel from box to box. Let it bee unless it’s in the way.
2. In division board feeders. To avoid this, stuff the feeder cavity with wire mesh the bees can use as a ladder. Try a Pro Feeder instead. They come with a cap and ladder system that also prevents drowning.
Supplies you will need to recoat wax on frames:
- An old used crock pot that will only be used for melting wax
- Water, a couple of cups
- Foundation to be coated
- A foam roller
- Beeswax – approximately 1 pound of wax for 10 frames. The more coats you use, the more wax you’ll need
Roll Waxing Your Frames
1. Add 1 cup of water and the wax to your slow cooker on medium heat to high heat. If you heat it on high to melt faster, watch it closely to prevent boiling and lower the temperature once most of the wax has melted. Tip: For cleaner wax, place it in a cut section of pantyhose or in T-shirt material.
2. After your wax has melted, turn your slow cooker down to a low or warm setting.
3. Leave the foundation in the frame so you don’t have to bend it to put it in after it’s been coated with wax.
4. Dip the roller into the wax and roll across the foundation. Your goal is to coat the raised hexagon imprinted on the plastic foundation and not fill the cavities of it.
5. Let this dry and harden for approximately 10 minutes before recoating. You can repeat this as much as you want, but twice is sufficient.
6. Use a straight edge to scrape off any wax that might have ended up on the frame edges.
7. Place newly waxed frames in hives within a few days or a week for the best results!
Safety Tips When Melting Wax
Never leave melting wax on a stovetop burner. Use electric heat—never an open flame (a used slow cooker works great!). Beeswax melts between 144°F and 147°F (62°C and 64°C). If beeswax is heated above 185°F (85°C), discoloration occurs. The flash point of beeswax is 400°F (204.4°C). Keep a fire extinguisher handy. The wax is hot and will burn you if it spills on your skin.
Tips: Find a used slow cooker at a secondhand store. After you use it to melt wax, you can’t use it for food anymore. Purchase a foam roller with a plastic insert instead of cardboard. It won’t soak up extra wax, and it will last longer! You can use old brood comb or dirty wax but try not to use wax from a hive that was previously treated. If purchasing your wax, avoid buying over the internet (or source unknown). Instead, find a local beekeeper or bee supply store to get pure beeswax. You want to wax frames close to the time you are putting them in the hive so the wax will still be soft and smell fresh.
