Thread 2943328

My bees are doing this. Would foundation stop them from building across two frames?

>>2943328 (OP)
y r u not a member of your local boomer beekeeping association?

>>2943329
Is that like boomer ham radio nerds that are government informants?

>>2943330
basically but slightly less narky. theyre mostly earthy type shitlibs that hate the govt for entirely the wrong reasons. they somehow actually succeeded in lobbying my states single party govt to deregulate small time beekeeping registration requirement. they can be pretty helpful if you can hold your nose and bite your tongue around them

Is it good to talk to my bees like a chav?

>>2943426
as long as you're ok with your bees thinking you're a chav

>>2943328 (OP)
>Would foundation stop them from building across two frames
Yes.
If you are determined to to foundationless, make sure you put the empty frames in between two fully drawn out frames of comb. If you put two empty frames together with no foundation the bees just do whatever. I do this with starter strips if I want comb honey to sell.
If you have to frames hopelessly fused together with multiple layers of comb then you might as well bin them and replace with 2 new frames. Just make sure the queen isn't hiding in there.

>>2943452
I have another empty deep box and a medium box. Should I stack the empty one under the hive they are currently building? Don't they build down?

>>2943456
>Don't they build down?
Traditionally no. Most people put the empties on top. And only if they've outgrown the space they've got. Also if you're northern hemisphere/going into autumn, don't do it.

>>2943473
>Also if you're northern hemisphere/going into autumn, don't do it.
I am in Los Angeles so we don't really get very cold weather but these are my first bees so I am not sure what their activity level in going to be like in cooler season.

>>2943328 (OP)
How much does it cost to get into bee keeping and can they be left alone for a week at a time?
Currently have to travel two weeks out of the month but thinking about getting into bees.

>>2943616
Rule of thumb is if it's too cold for short sleeves, it's too cold for the bees to come out. Point is they won't be building big population growth. Unless they're over-crowded it's probably safe to leave them in a single box. Less space for them to warm up when it is cold.
>>2943724
>can they be left alone for a week at a time?
Easily. I leave mine for 6 months in the cooler months but we don't have Varroa mite here yet. During swarming season I try to get to them every fortnight to prevent swarming.
I'm going to make a rough guess you could get started for less than $500. If you want a flow hive though I think they're over $1k just for the hive kit, 10x more than regular hardware. Although you theoretically don't have to spend money on extracting equipment (lots of $$$) if you've only got 1 or 2 hives.

I've got between 10 and 15 hives at any one time and need to extract honey in bulk a few times a year. So the equipment is necessary.

>>2943724
>How much does it cost to get into bee keeping
The bees were free. I got my gear for less than $200 by shopping around and buying a used bee suit. I have a local Chinese import warehouse that only has bee stuff for dirt cheap.