Expanding the Brood

Limit the use of CombForms™ between brood frames to no more than 25%. 

One well known rule of beekeeping is "Don't split the brood". CombForms™ allow passage of workers, queens and drones so they can be placed between brood combs when being used to guide the hive to expand, but bees do this best when encouraged to make gradual changes. This means a weak hive or a nucleus hive with three frames of brood can be encouraged to produce one more frame of brood by placing one empty frame between two comb forms just at the edge of the brood ball. If you have six frames of brood you can encourage them to produce additional brood by adding an empty frame between two comb forms on both sides of the brood ball.

One CombForm™ is inserted within the brood ball to correct misshapen comb

Additional CombForms™ are used outside the brood ball in the areas of misshapen comb.

Manage the Empty Space

Use one or more CombForms™ to fill extra empty space by placing them at the hive wall. 

The CombForms™ is being used as a perforated follower board. It helps promote ventilation at the hive wall which can help dissipate condensation moisture but keeps the bees from filling the empty space with bridge comb.

Swarm Prevention

Once bees have decided to swarm the Aspinwall method and CombForms™ will not prevent swarming. 

 It appears that swarm control using CombForms™ must begin before the bees begin preparations for swarming. This is one area where the use of CombForms™ is going to require significant additional research. Whereas most of the other ways that CombForms™ can be used are able to be easily evaluated, swarm control evaluation can be tricky. If the hive doesn't swarm - is it because the CombForms™ worked? If the hive does swarm is it because the CombForms™ failed? In theory CombForms™ should work as well as the separators patented by Aspinwall - but for now, only the bees know for sure.

History of Swarm Prevention

When bees experience overcrowding within the hive they will respond by swarming. This is the natural way that honeybee colonies reproduce. Approximately half the bees in the hive will leave the hive along with the existing queen bee. This relieves the overcrowding and is the way that bees propagate new hives. When apiary hives swarm it results in a reduction in the amount of honey that can be harvested. The bees put their energy into making a new hive instead of producing honey. Recapturing the swarm is additional work for the beekeeper and may result in the swarm invading a populated area causing people to panic. There is a delicate balance that must be achieved by beekeepers that hope to harvest surplus honey from their bees. Strong hives are necessary to bring in enough nectar to make extra honey that can be harvested, but strong hives are more likely to swarm due to overcrowding of the brood box.

Lewis Aspinwall - 1908 Swarm Prevention Frame, Patent Number 891,584

In 1897 Lewis Agustus Aspinwall patented a method of making bees feel like they had adequate room so they would focus their attention on honey production instead of swarming. Aspinwall's principle encouraged the bees to expand their hive upward into the empty honey supers that were place on top of the hive. 

In my present hive I employ similar brood or comb frames, and I prefer to arrange the same alternately with dummy frames that are filled in with a series of similar or parallel strips or slats. These slats may be placed in any desired direction and so close to one another as to leave between them about a bee-space, and the slats are preferably as wide as the dummy frames, and they are so close as to prevent the bees building comb in the frames, but yet at the same time allowing room for the bees to travel through the dummy frames from one comb frame to the next and in this way providing ample room for all the bees and for the increase of the bees, so as to overcome the tendency of the bees to swarm at certain periods.

Placing three CombForms™ side-by-side at the edge of the brood ball creates the appropriate spacing and is hypothesized as another way to utilize the Aspinwall method for swarm prevention. Preliminary testing appears favorable; however, controlled trials supported by this crowd funding project are needed.  

When Bees build onto the CombForm

If the bees build wax onto the CombForms™ let them clean it up. 

When there is a "bee space" between the comb and CombForm™ the bees will keep the space clear. If a CombForm™ is inserted into the hive so it comes close to or touches the comb, the bees will bridge wax to the CombForm™ and may fill the hexagonal holes with wax. This can be used to help correct minor bulges by deliberately inserting the CombForms™ in place so it contacts overbuilt honeycomb. In a few days the bees will build cross comb attachments. When the CombForms™ is pulled away from the comb a layer of excess wax is pulled along with it - which will help to reestablish the desired "bee space". The CombForm™ with the excess wax and blocked holes is placed in an extra space or an upper tier of the hive for the bees to clean away the wax and drips of honey that remained behind.

Nectar Dearth

Bees can only perform wax repairs or build new comb when they have adequate amounts of incoming nectar or are being fed 1:1 (light) sugar syrup. 

When using CombForms™ to promote comb production or wax repairs the bees must have plenty of food as a raw material. This means that in times of nectar dearth - it is necessary to feed your bees in order for them to produce wax. Many areas no longer have adequate bee forage due to habitat destruction or drought. Don't let your bees starve - feed them if they need it.

Correct Comb Irregularities

Correct comb construction irregularities early by using CombForms™. 

New comb is flexible and easily reshaped. CombForms™ are used to guide the bees so they repair misshapen comb. Think of CombForms™ as orthodontia for beeswax. The comb is adjusted so that it is in a desirable position and shape. The CombForms™ maintain the shape and spacing until the bees are able to repair the attachments.