The Middle Bar Frame

Just after our nuc transfers on 8 May 2015, we received some pictures from Dale Wright, who received a colony at that event. They show how the middle bar frames work and what the bees do to build onto them.

These pictures were taken just after the nuc transfers. From the looks of things, it seems that the bees are building smaller comb on the middle bar frames, really not built to hold anything other than the essentials. However, the following pictures were taken when Dale checked his hive after two weeks.

Look at the difference that just two weeks makes! The bees have almost completely filled up the frames with comb they built without any help!

A lot of people have asked us why we prefer to use the middle bar frame instead of using a plastic or wax foundation. This is all going towards our sustainable bee research and helping the bees become healthier. In general, using the middle bar frames are beneficial to the health of the bees. They build the comb on the middle bar frame the way they want instead of the way that we want them to. Stan Moulton, our beekeeper, has done extensive experimentation and has concluded that these frames are indeed healthier for the bees' sustainability. As he likes to say, "We need to stop telling the bees what to do. We need to leave the bees alone."

You can purchase middle bar frames by clicking here.

Here is a series of videos of Stan explaining how the middle bar frames work and their benefits to the bees: