Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => Swarms, Cut Outs, Trap Outs and Bee Trees => Topic started by: tbonekel on April 07, 2015, 04:17:18 pm
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I did a cut out last year and rubber banded the comb into a frame. The bees have done well, but they didn't really do well with that frame of comb. They did build it up, but it's not straight. There are eggs and capped brood in it. I want to recycle this comb. What's the best way to allow the bees to emerge, but yet make it where no more eggs are laid? I think at one point, I moved this frame to the outside, but she still laid in it. If I can make it happen, I will just put the frame outside somewhere and let them rob it out of whatever other resources are there. Wait, I think I just answered my own question. Queen excluder?
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Put it in the super with a queen excluder under it. when the bees have emerged you can pull it from the hive.
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Your predicament is one of the reasons for using a queen excluder.
I don't like the idea of encouraging robbing out frames. You know how it starts but can't be sure you'll know how it ends.
But I thoroughly understand your situation---getting rid of those undesirable combs is a real pain. Somehow they never seem to empty out completely to enable melting them down without some loss. If the brood is worker brood, I'd try to be patient and hope they hatch out without the queen recycling into them. If it collects drone brood, I'd just uncap them with an uncapping fork, let the bees clean out the cells and melt it down.