Housel Positioning
My natural comb observations don't support Houseling.
The Proposition
Housel positioning(hp) goes something like this: In a natural nest, bees construct a center comb. The apparent "Y" pattern, seen on the cell bottom of this comb, are oriented horizontally. Remaining combs are oriented toward this central comb. The surface of the comb facing toward the central comb has upside down "Y"s in the cell bottom. The comb surface facing away from the central comb has a normally oriented upright "Y" pattern in the cell's bottom.
Some small cell beekeepers reported than bees experience many positive benefits when the frames are oriented the same way. They say their bees suffer less stress when the frames mimic a natural broodnest.
My Houseled Hives
I learned of hp right after I regressed my beehives. They had suffered extensive colony losses and the few remaining survivors were very weak. In March, most had less than four frames of bees. It was very sad. If I had combined them together, they wouldn't have made one good hive. Earlier, I would have shaken those bees out on the ground. Instead I hped them.
Just which way are the Y's pointing? This top bar 3, the first comb drawn.
I expected the colonies would shift to their warmer side. That was my experience with small dinks. But these small cell hped bees stayed centered in the box. I thought there might be something to hping.
The following spring, those over wintered clusters were huge and centered in the boxes. They easily comprised eight frames in the middle box. I thought that hping these hives kept the clusters center.
Top Bar Hive Observations
Hping seemed worth including in my natural comb observations. So, I kept detailed records of the comb building sequence. And recorded all comb orientation with photographs. The bees first constructing comb on top bar 3. Within days, comb construction was underway on top bars 3 through 7, with most activity on bar 5.
Top bar 5 became the physical center of the broodnest structure. When I examined these combs, I couldn't find any evidence that the pattern in the cell bottom reflected comb orientation. The "Y" patterns were not consistant on a single comb face, let alone between combs in the broodnest.
How we view the orientation of the "Y" is more a matter of human perception that a function of comb structure. A minor shift in the relationship between the two comb surface results in a variety of perceptions. Two headed "Y"s, straight lines, "V" and all kinds of combinations are easily seen.
Which way are the "Y"s oriented in the top bar 5 photo? And what about all those other shapes? It appears that when the bees are under pressure to construct comb, they don't spend much time working out the differences between the two comb sides.
And even under normal conditions, one side of the comb isn't a mirror image of the other side. Cells on one side are generally the same kind. But the cell often transition at different rates and in differing amounts. The bees don't care much about building a uniform midrib like foundation has. They are more adaptable and their comb building is more flexible than is our ability to make foundation.
Often, the bees simultaneously start comb at two or more different places on a single top bar. And these different combs often have a different cell bottom orientation.
There just wasn't any evidence that the cell bottoms in a natural broodnest have anything to do with hp.
My Un-regressed, Un-Houseled Hives
As part of another experiment, I established small cell bees in hives with clean, large cell comb. In contrast to the small cell hives they came from, these hives had frames dumped into the box without any hping. These large cell hives were comparable in every aspect, with the small cell hped hives, except for mite tolerance.
This is top bar 5, the physical broodnest center.
Is it any easier to determine how the Y's pointe?
These bees over wintered with strong clusters. They stayed centered in the boxes like the hped, small cell colonies. There wasn't any difference in temperament, swarming, brood rearing, comb drawing or honey production. Hping, or the lack thereof, simply made no difference to the bees.
Conclusion
The Y's orientation is the result of human perception, not bee behavior. The Y, in a perfectly formed cell bottom, would be equally oriented in any of three different directions. Any of those orientations is emphasized when differences occurs between the two sides of comb. More difference and the Y's are perceived as double headed Y's, straight lines, etc. Rotate the cell bottom orientation a little and combine that with some construction difference and it's impossible to consistently determine any Y orientation.
I now know my first impressions about hp were in error. The bees ability to stay centered throughout the winter has everything to do with colony size and nothing to do with hping.
Hp isn't a characteristic of a natural broodnest. Hping a hive may give a beekeeper something to do and may make him feel like he's helping the bees. But it has nothing to do with the bees and they could care less if the combs are hped or not :>)
