2.0 EQUIPMENT
The Candidate will be
2.5 aware of the spacing of the combs in the brood chamber and super for both foundation and drawn comb and methods used to achieve this spacing.
NOTES
Bees left to their own devices will build at a spacing of 38mm between the mid line of each comb. They will draw these combs out until there is just enough space for two bees to work back to back (see also notes about bee space study_notes_2_2).
Spacing of the combs in the hive is determined by the type of frame used. There are various methods of achieving regularly spaced frames, but the most widely used are either by using “ends” (spacers) attached to the top bar where the width of the “end” determines the spacing, or by using self-spacing frames where the side bars of the frame are wider than the top bar and the side bars determine the spacing.
Sadly, frame spacing has not reached the metric age and frames are manufactured and sold in imperial units and are quoted below with those units plus an approximate metric equivalent.
Ends are sold either as “metal ends” or “plastic ends” and come in two sizes, narrow (1+7/16 inch, 36.5mm) or wide (1+7/8 inch, 47.6mm) . The narrow width should be used in the brood chamber where the object is to maximise the number of frames available for brood production. The wider width can be used in the supers where a greater volume of honey can be achieved by having deeper cells on fewer frames.
Self spacing frames are either of the Hoffman or Manley types.
A Hoffman frame has a side bar that is widest at the top then tapers to a narrower width at the bottom. This shape allows bees to crawl around the sides of the frames at the narrow end. For British Standard National frames Hoffman side bars can be obtained as widths of either 1+1/2 inch (38.1mm) or 1+3/8 inch (34.9mm). Either of these widths would be suitable for use in the brood chamber. Hoffman frames can also be used in the supers where the wider width would be preferable.
Manley frames have straight sided side bars and are always 1+5/8 inch (41.2mm). The width was determined by experiment to see how far bees would readily draw out cells of honey. These frames should only be used in the supers.
A further method of spacing is to use castellated spacers. These are pieces of thin metal cut with square notches – resembling the top of a castle wall. The notches are cut at the appropriate spacing distance and the frames are arranged to sit in those notches.
https://www.thorne.co.uk/spacing-runners-and-entrance-fittings/spacing