Last week I was in Florida, but the week before I set out to start making some corrections to the cross combed mess in my hive. First, I took out all the honey bars and a couple of brood bars and added popsicle sticks with beeswax to work as comb guides on each bar and hopefully "inspire" my little friends to build straight comb. I also did some research on cross comb correction and read that you can use a hair clip to attach some comb to one of your bars straight, so I decided to try that as well.
Tools of the trade, and bars with new comb guides attached
I opened up the hive and put the honey bars back in behind my follower board, then proceeded to open the front part of the hive where my bees are living. I'm not sure what is "normal" since I have no basis for comparison, but my bees seem to be quite prolific propolis-makers. Propolis is "bee glue" that the bees make to seal up unwanted open spaces. They use a lot of it on the bars and I now have to use the hive tool to pry them out every time I work on my hive. Hopefully it's a sign of a healthy hive, but it also ups my clumsiness factor. I seem to always be clanging or banging something around as I'm prying off the bars. I wonder how long it takes to acquire grace as a beekeeper.
Anyway, next step was to attach the hair clips to a couple bars:
Once this was done, I needed to pull out one of the bars with messed up comb, cut it off, and then grab it with the clip. I managed to get a bar out, but it was pretty messy. Then it was time to cut out a piece of comb, which wasn't too hard, but there were still quite a few bees on it. I suddenly remembered: I don't have a bee brush. They actually sell brushes for beekeepers to brush the bees off frames of comb. I didn't buy one since I thought it was kind of silly at the time, but I was really wishing for one in that moment. I tried using some blades of grass without success, so I finally just took the piece of comb and gently brushed it on the ground to get the bees off. They were less than thrilled, for sure. By this time it had also been over 10 minutes with the hive open, so things were getting a little more intense. I was fighting that familiar rush of adrenaline and flight response screaming "run for your life" in my head. After a couple deep breaths, I clipped the comb to the bar and put it back in. I also pushed the comb on the bar where I did some 'trimming' back into a more straight position. Since things were not going quite as smoothly as I 'd hoped, I decided to just go with one hair clip. I re-arranged things, put the lid back on the hive, and said a prayer that the bees would correct themselves while I was on vacation.
Then I spent a week on the beach in the sun, and didn't really think too much about my bees. Sorry bees. I think they must have felt it, because they didn't quite take to my corrections like I hoped. Last Sunday I went back and opened up the hive after about a week and a half. Some of the comb I had attached to the hair clip had fallen off, but they had still built off of it. The new comb was a bit wavy, and there was also a second comb on that bar attached to the bar in front of it. I gave the bees a very disapproving look. If they had middle fingers, they probably would have given them back to me.
Results of the hair clip re-attachment. You can also see propolis (orange) and the incredible mess inside my hive in this shot.
I cut off the second comb from the hair clip bar and stuck it on to one of the bars where I added the comb guide.
New comb guide with honeycomb stuck in the middle and bees probably wondering what the hell I was doing.
I tried pulled out another bar and broke some comb, which dripped honey everywhere. The bees proceeded to freak out.
Dripping honey + messed up comb that is also attached to the wall of the hive.
So I now have a somewhat straight comb on the hair clip bar. I read on a beekeeping forum that putting an empty bar in front of a bar with straight comb will help the bees continue to build straight, so I added a bar in front of it, and put the bar with new comb guides and cut comb behind it. I didn't even attempt to pull out any more bars.
I was feeling quite overwhelmed after this latest check of the hive. I know that I've learned a lot in a short time about beekeeping, butl there is still so much more to absorb and experience. Asking for help does not come easily for me, but I finally mentally conceded defeat to the crooked comb and admitted that it was time to call for reinforcements. After these last two experiences where I've broken lots of comb, spilled honey everywhere and drowned some bees, I knew it was time. I was upsetting myself and the bees now, and things were not improving.
I've mentioned Liz from TwoHoneys in the blog before, so I sent her an e-mail SOS. She agreed to come this weekend or early next week to help me make some major corrections. I'm so excited to get some help from someone who really knows what she is doing. I'll make sure to get lots of pictures and post an update about it once that happens. In the mean time, there is not much I can do. Since the temps are in the 90s, the wax comb is really soft and I would risk doing even more damage if I went in and messed with the bars right now. So, although my 'wishing and hoping' for straight comb has proven highly ineffective in the past, that is all I have until Liz comes.
One of my girls eating honey off the hive tool
The bees have taught me, or at least forced me to accept, that it is okay to need and ask for help sometimes. I'm sure it's a lesson I'll have to continue to learn, but for now, that is what I'm taking from my little winged friends. Peace, patience, perseverance...and a little honey to sweeten the deal.
Let the wax raise
green statues, let the honey
drip in infinite tongues, let the ocean be a big comb
and Earth a tunic of flowers, let the World
be a cascade, magnificent hair, unceasing
growth of Beedom.
-Pablo Neruda
Wow. This awesome. In addition I'm glad you have an epi pen
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