# Effects of Comb Age on Honey Bee Colony Growth



## timgoodin (Mar 10, 2007)

Very interesting article. Here is the summary.

This research examined the effects of comb age
on honey bee colony growth and brood survivorship.
Experimental old combs were of an
unknown age, but were dark and heavy as typical
of combs one or more years old. New
combs were produced just prior to the beginning
of the experiment and had never had
brood previously reared in them. Either old or
new combs were installed into each of 21–24
nucleus colonies each year over a three-year
period. On average, colonies with new comb
produced a greater area (cm2) of brood, a
greater area (cm2) of sealed brood, and a higher
weight of individual young bees (mg). Brood
survivorship was the only variable significantly
higher in old comb.

Tim


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

Thank you for reading the data and your reply.
Ernie


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## swarm_trapper (Jun 19, 2003)

hey i cant find the artical? what do you mean about the brood survivership was greater? that the old comb had more of the brood hatch out?


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## tigger (Jan 1, 2009)

http://www.ent.uga.edu/bees/publications/effects_comb_age.pdf should work.


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## simplyhoney (Sep 14, 2004)

Interesting article but as with many honey bee experiments you always have to ask, how do you come to these conclusions when there are so many uncontrolable variables. For instance, the article states that the experimenters put the old comb in large established colonies to clean it of debris. How do we know that some or all of these colonies were perfectly health. How do we know that they didn't pass just enough Nosema spores to affect the data. 
I am not saying that this was a bad experiment...probably just a bit superfluous since common sense tells me that newer comb would be better. In nature the wax moth takes care of old comb.


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## JBJ (Jan 27, 2005)

Time of the year can be a factor. I have seen really new comb nearly ignored in Feb and eagerly brooded in 6 weeks later.


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## JBJ (Jan 27, 2005)

All I am suggesting is that sometimes location, time of the year, and intensity of the flow may have a greater affect on outcomes than comb age does at other times of the year.


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## jjgbee (Oct 12, 2006)

One time, I was culling out old comb which was also heavy with drone comb. About 300 boxes. Well along came a wet year. I made splits and filled every box with bees. Those hives on that junk comb produced great bees and averaged the same honey as the hives on mostly new comb. Not scientific just facts. Of coarse this was befor Fluvalinate and the rest of the pesticides used today.


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