In the Philippines we can not just order frames. Most frames I have seen are homemade. If you are going to build your own frames then you sh...
In the Philippines we can not just order frames. Most frames I have seen are homemade. If you are going to build your own frames then you should understand spacing.
In New Zealand the self spacing frames are 33mm for brood and spaced in the box wider for honey but burr comb does result. Its a compromise as hives are not visited often and left to do their own thing.
USA Hoffman self spacing standard frames are 35mm which is a compromise between both worker brood and honey.
If you plan on building frames and managing your bees and not just leaving them to do their own thing then 32mm and 38mm is much to be preferred. With 32mm spacing you can drop in an empty frame, with no foundation, right in the middle of the brood area to dissuade swarming. The bees will draw it out with no burr if it sits 32mm (center to center spacing) between two existing straight combs
Natural worker brood comb is between 20mm to 23mm. Given the beespace of 9mm then the maximum spacing for brood comb is 23 + 9 = 32mm.
For honey comb the width is never less than 29mm and can go much wider as the bees will fill the space available. 29mm + 9 = 38mm.
In New Zealand the self spacing frames are 33mm for brood and spaced in the box wider for honey but burr comb does result. Its a compromise as hives are not visited often and left to do their own thing.
USA Hoffman self spacing standard frames are 35mm which is a compromise between both worker brood and honey.
If you plan on building frames and managing your bees and not just leaving them to do their own thing then 32mm and 38mm is much to be preferred. With 32mm spacing you can drop in an empty frame, with no foundation, right in the middle of the brood area to dissuade swarming. The bees will draw it out with no burr if it sits 32mm (center to center spacing) between two existing straight combs
Natural worker brood comb is between 20mm to 23mm. Given the beespace of 9mm then the maximum spacing for brood comb is 23 + 9 = 32mm.
To achieve brood with little or no drone comb the spacing center to center of brood frames should be 32mm or less.
32mm will fit two layers of nurse bees which is needed in the highland Philippines like Baguio. Bees do not need to cluster for heat in two layers unless it is below 14 degrees Celsius. So theoretically 28mm would be the actual optimum for low land Philippines where it never even gets close to 14 degrees. Chilled brood will never be an issue. 28mm is comb at 22 + 6 mm minimum bee-space.For honey comb the width is never less than 29mm and can go much wider as the bees will fill the space available. 29mm + 9 = 38mm.
