Frames and Foundation
The basics
Frames are the oblong structures that hang in the hive on which bees make comb for storing honey or for growing eggs, larvae, pupae (brood). Frames come in various sizes to fit different hives. There are a few hive patterns, for example: Hoffman and, Manley. National hives (have various frames, DN4 is the most popular; it is a Hoffman). Frames and are generally fitted with wired wax foundation. The default meaning of a wooden frame is one with wax foundation. If you plan to keep bees the same way as other beekeepers in England, that is all you need to know.
Below are the variables of frames. If you are adventurous, you might like to compare plastic frames with wooden frames.
The shape of the frame
Manley – make it easier to uncap honeycombs.
Hoffman – normal!
Starter stick/strip – no foundation
The comb
The hexagonal pattern pressed on foundation is either standard for workers or larger drone sized.
Come with or without embedded support wires – that prevent the fragile wax sheets of foundation from falling apart.
Material – what the frame is made of
Wood and wax
Plastic
Wood and plastic
Brood
Super, Brood, Dummy board
The comb on super frame foundation is usually whitish and can be re-used many times over. If it becomes brittle, bees will soften when you put it in a hive.
Brood frames become darker with age due to residues of pupae cocoons and propolis. Dark frames can be used for many years. Since they become contaminated with toxins, most beekeepers replace them every 2 –3 years.
Dummy boards are slim frames that prevent bees from constructing brace comb in the space between the end frame and the inner wall of a box. They are unnecessary when using plastic frames with poly hives.
It is easier to see eggs on black foundation.
White wax - National super (notice the longer lug), Dark Medium frame, Dummy board
The advantages of plastic frames
Plastic frames have a larger surface area than wooden ones, so they are bigger than one might expect. For example, plastic Medium Dadant Shallow (medium frames) is 648 square cm versus National wax brood/deep foundation is 692 square cm.
The young brood is easy to see with opaque frames. If you must find eggs, you can.
There is no hassle assembling frames.
They are tough: I can stuff them into my rucksack & carry them to my out-apiary.
The comb is dead level. There are no nooks and crannies where the queen or queen cells (QC) can hide.
Bees cannot chew or make holes in them.
They do not blow out (fall apart) during honey extraction.
They last a lifetime – almost
Option of using one’s own wax to coat them.
Suit any bee – not “Some bees don't like them.”
Langstroth Mediums handle with a nice balance, and the narrow profile gives the impression that your eyes have less distance to cover.
Plastic Langstroth Deeps can be cut down to Mediums using a table saw.
Plastic foundation can be used with wooden frames.
You can let Wax Moth clean your frames
Re-using them takes effort. In a nectar flow, scrape, and return them to the hive. The bees will clean them, and draw out the comb.
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Sheets of plastic foundation click into wooden frames. The embossed hexagonal pattern is deep in this foundation, which makes it difficult to wax with a roller.
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Both assembling fames and waxing plastic ones can take a little practice.
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Temporary picture showing holes in comb in a frame drawn without foundation.
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Deep frames can be cut to make medium frames.
Wooden frames with wax foundation
Wax foundation is easily deformed, and bees chew holes in it. Since bees draw comb on wax foundation with alacrity, burr and bridge comb are relatively common.
Wooden medium frames, require Modified Dadant Shallow wax foundation, not Langstroth super foundation.
Waxing plastic frames is quicker than making up frames with foundation. Wooden Modified Dadant Shallow frames are not so widely available and sometimes masquerade as UK-style when they are American. American-style frames either have gutters in the upper and lower bars to fit plastic foundation, or have horizontal or vertical holes that need wiring. The wire has to be embedded in the foundation. An example of the frame confusion is that the correct type of frame for UK foundation is available (in 2024) from bee-equipment.co.uk. However, the accompanying picture suggests it is an American style frame. The cwynnejones.com photo is informative.
Quality frames with fine grain and no knots are derived from slow-growing trees, so if you are ecologically aware, you will need to find their provenance. “Seconds” have some knots and are likelier to break.
They require assembly but can be bought ready assembled.
Wax foundation in storage gets brittle and a little paler after a year or so. The brittleness should resolve once it is placed in the hive. Alternatively, the bees busy themselves gnawing holes,
Re-using wooden frames entails a lot of fiddling, teasing components apart after boiling them in a washing soda solution. Many people don’t bother and consider them single-use.
Bees take to them well and draw nice super combs.
They draw combs before they are required.
The bee space between brood frames sometimes goes wiggly. Adjacent frames fit each other's wiggles, making moving frames to another position in the box problematic..
Brace comb forms between wooden frames.
They are lighter than plastic frames.
Nationals have long lugs which are easy to hold.
Choice of frames, such as Manley
Queen cells are easy to cut out.
Making up frames with wax foundation isn’t too painful for most people: watch a video. The presenter uses nine pins. Using four rather than two pins in the top bar is standard, thus using 11 pins per frame.
Bees readily draw comb
Both plastic and wooden frames have lugs (the bits that stick out at the ends of the frame). The protruding parts ensure the frames are spaced correctly. Note how the nails in the upper frame are wrongly placed. See the correct positioning.
Issues with plastic frames
Some beekeepers believe they are the work of the Devil.
Frames that are not waxed thoroughly do not get drawn. Some people prime them with minimal wax and report good results, but that has never worked for me. They need 45g—50g per frame, which is a further expense of £0.87 (2021 prices). Getting the wax coating right takes a bit of practice. Rubbing them with wax is an easy, second rate alternative.
Like many manufacturing businesses, bees draw comb “just in time”. This is an important consideration.
They have a higher initial cost but are long-lasting: plastic Medium frames are £2.68, and assembled wooden frames are £2.10 (2021). The price of plastic frames has risen hugely: medium £4.70 (2024). However, orders > £135 (+ delivery) can be purchased from Honey Paw in Finland for more than half this price.
The bees are reluctant to draw drone comb on worker foundation.
It is difficult but possible to cut out queen cells.
They are heavier. Waxed Medium plastic frames weigh 290g, and wooden frames with a wax foundation weigh 240g.
They are made from polypropylene (PP). My experience is that they deform at less than 82 °C. The closest figure I could find was 100 °C at 1.8 MPa (1.8 times normal atmospheric pressure—so the deflection temperature will be lower than this, about 90 degrees C). Deflection temperature of various plastics.
Like flower pots, black plastic cannot be recycled (other colours of thermosetting plastics can). So, currently, they end their lives in landfill.
The carbon footprint from manufacturing is equivalent to 1.6 kg CO2/kg. However, this does not include oil extraction and transport, so it is more like 3–5 kg CO2 eq/Kg. It is lower than beef at 24–36 kg CO2 eq/kg—plastic manufacture results in small amounts of VOCs and NM-VOCs, which affect ozone levels.
All-in-one deep plastic frames are available for Nationals. The frames could be cut down to fit supers.
If you know you will never be able to pick up queens (to clip and mark them), maybe because you have an impediment like an intention tremor, you will find a marking table helpful. This works best with shallow plastic frames.
Some people say bees “don’t like them”. Yes, on balance, bees prefer wax foundation, especially if plastic frames are not adequately waxed. When first using these frames, getting the waxing just right is challenging. Get it wrong, and sure, the bees don’t like it. I have used plastic with mongrels and four strains of honey bees without an issue.
To get fresh comb, put frames of foundation between fully drawn comb. Otherwise, they may build a deep comb on one frame and none on the next.
Some advocate using wood with wax foundation as brood frames and plastic for supers. Others do the opposite. Their decision depends on their priority regarding the durability of the frames versus the ease of finding eggs.
Frames often get stuck to the ones above, especially in the spring. Wooden ones do, too; I haven’t noticed if one does more than the other. Before removing a box with Paradise hives, open the box a crack and slip your hive tool inside; then run it along the fissure to free the frames. Splitting the stuck comb like this is impossible in hives with perpendicular rebates. Sticky frames seem to lessen in the summer. Top space hives don’t have this issue.
Brace comb between plastic frames is rare. If the hive is level, the comb is straight; it never kinks. A dummy board is unnecessary.
They sometimes fail to draw out the frame entirely before using it.
They warp if hot-washed.
They must disrupt vibrational communication.
Plastic Foundation
Using sheets of plastic foundation is a bright idea. They are easy to store and clean. They are available for Nationals; just be careful to buy the right frames.
Drawing wax / making comb
Wooden frames occasionally break. They can be strengthened by gluing the parts together, but this makes them impossible to recycle.
A large harvest depends on a good supply of drawn brood and super frames. Here are two methods to encourage bees to do what you want. Not infrequently, they have other ideas like abscond or sit around doing precious little. Their Inactivity can arise with insufficient bees or cold weather.
Try using manipulations like a Bailey comb change or encourage them by placing foundation in the best position and feeding them thin syrup in the build up period.
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