Question about turning comb during inspection...

[doggonegardener]

Hey Folks,

I get the whole thing about not flipping the comb around and putting it back in the hive the wrong way around.  The girls don't like it.  Ok.  Here's the question.  Everyone suggests having two hives when a beek is starting so they have things to mix and match in case of shortages in one hive.  So, say for example, I wanted to move a comb of brood from one TBH to the other for population or a comb of food?  How do I know which side to put which way when I am switching between hives.  Do I just keep the orientation from the hive it came from?  Is this a stupid question?  If the bees care about the orientation of combs from their own hive, do they care about others as well when introduced?

Thanks,

Rene

[Country Heart]

 

[Michael Bush]

The thing about flipping combs is mostly that the shape of each comb is exactly matched to the one adjacent and the brood etc. is all arranged like they want and the comb faces rebuilt to match each other.  No need to make them rearrange things every time you get in the hive without any reason.  If you have a reason to move a comb, move it.  The bees will adjust.  If you don't have  a reason, why make them work so hard?

[doggonegardener]

Michael,

So if I really NEEDED to move a comb in from another hive, I could do so without much consideration for lining something up or making sure I have the "right side" forward?  Many thanks.

Emailed you about a week ago about beekeeping in Laramie.  You have been most helpful.

Looking forward to starting in the spring.  Hard to find local bees though. 

Rene

[Michael Bush]

There are people who believe you should figure out the Housel orientation, but in natural comb I have not been able to figure that out as it varies across the comb...

[OMGLeatherworks]

I would imagine you simply want to avoid the combs touching when you move a frame to a new location.  As was said earlier though, the bees will fix the wax/comb to fit their space.  I'd just guess that whatever is in the cells that touch would be lost.

[luvin honey]

Every year I've taken comb from 1 topbar and put it in another and never once paid attention to which direction it had been facing. The bees seem to work around it.

When doing an inspection in 1 hive, however, I put it back exactly as it had been.

[Michael Bush]

It is simple enough to number combs or frames.  Or just mark a diagonal line across the top bars and make sure the line is lined back up...