Voice of the Hive

Experiment: can a honeycomb be reattached by the bees?

This immature comb came out of the Warré super, which has shorter top bars than those in the main hive body. There's about 2lbs of nectar in perfectly straight comb, always nice to have in the hive. If only it had been centered on it's short top bar; then I could've just tied it into a full-length top bar. Instead, I had to cut it off. Rather than trying to melt it onto a full-length top bar, I decided to experiment and give the girls the opportunity to attach the comb themselves. That's cheesecloth and parchment paper holding the comb in place. Here, the experimental bar is in the very back of the hive, in case they chew through the paper and cheesecloth first.

9 days later...   a very unhappy hum

What was once a beautiful piece of comb:

Lesson learned. Next time, I'll use a piece of hardware cloth.