Black vs. White Foundation

A place for bee-ginners to ask questions and receive answers from experienced beekeepers.
Post Reply
User avatar
Bryan
Forum Regular
Posts: 7
Joined: February 26th, 2015, 2:41 pm
Location: Hanna, AB

Black vs. White Foundation

Unread post by Bryan »

I know that black foundation is for brood, white is for honey supers. Does it actually make a difference? Are there studies to support or refute the theory?
Allen Dick
Site Admin
Posts: 1824
Joined: February 25th, 2003, 10:09 pm
Location: Swalwell, Alberta
Contact:

Re: Black vs. White Foundation

Unread post by Allen Dick »

Apologies. I did not see this until now.
black foundation is for brood, white is for honey supers
I've heard that said before, but I do not know where that comes from, unless maybe someone who has white frames to sell. There is no reason for that idea, and reasons against.

Actually, black is better for everything. I don't know why, but in my experience over many, many years, bees work sooner and better in darker plastic. Try putting both into a super and see. FWIW, if I had a choice, I'd go for chocolate brown like Ross Rounds frames, but nobody makes them.

The black advantage may have to do with infra red and heat properties. Black absorbs and radiates heat better than white.

Black foundation also makes seeing eggs and larvae much easier.

That said, either colour works for either brood or honey and bees do not distinguish between brood frames and honey frames in nature. (Except by position in the cavity which leads to some size differences and is beyond the scope of this reply).

Bees are not at all fussy about cell size or comb colour and most of the distinctions we hear are in the minds of humans. That said, when living on combs with uniform cell sizes built on foundation, darker combs are preferred by bees and moderate cell sizes -- diameters in the 5.2-5.3mm range seem to suit European Honey Bees (EHB) best.

Additionally, white plastic looks like hell after a while.
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
51° 33'39.64"N 113°18'52.45"W
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/Allen%27s%20Beehives.kmz
Forum owner/janitor
---
Customise your experience at Honeybeeworld Forum at your User control Panel
Change the appearance and layout with your Board Preferences
Please upload your own avatar picture at Edit Avatar. It's easy!
Return to main diary page
Post Reply