Subject: Two Questions

From: [email-masked] (H M McCabe (Harold))
Date: 6 Sep 1996 16:10:59 GMT

During a recent hive inspection I noticed "bridge comb" between the bottom
of the frames and the top of the frames of a super below. I assume this is
because the spacing is not right. Can this "bridge comb" be reduced by
fastening wood strips to the bottom of the frames in the upper super to
reduce the spacing?

Also, how long should one leave menthol crystals in a hive in order to 
treat for tracheal mites?

-- 
Harold McCabe
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From: [email-masked] (Joel Govostes)
Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 07:29:29 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]

> treat for tracheal mites?

The bees "prefer" continuity of combs, especially in the brood chamber. 
Therefore, it is normal for them to construct bits of comb in these gaps
between the stories of combs.  The burr comb also serves as a "ladder" for
the bees to pass to and fro.  Having perfect spacing will not eliminate
this behavior.  Don't bother trying to modify the frames.  Incidentally,
some colonies will do this more than others.  Also, if there is a honey
flow on and too little storage-comb space, they will build lots of this
comb between the super-stories and fill it promptly with honey.

Don't worry about the bridge-comb if you have the correct 1/4 - 3/8" bee
space betweem the combs in adjacent boxes.  In the spring, when the
population is lower and you "spring clean," you can scrape this comb off
to make manipulations easier.  They will build more eventually. I remove
the bulk of this excess in spring when I am cleaning off the floors. This
helps to prevent crushing of bees when re-stacking the boxes.

Regarding the menthol, I don't know as I don't use it.  It requires
sufficient heat to vaporize it and this is normally not feasible in the
north.  The bees are not at all fond of menthol and many folks have
discontinued its use in favor of grease-patties for tracheal mite control.