A subtle kindness when one’s first bees come from a package, or even from a nuc, is that the frames are easy to remove from the hive body. Then as the new beekeeper gains experience removing frames and handling them, the bees are collecting propolis, attaching the frames to the hive body more firmly. Gradually the frames become more difficult to remove.
The usual advice is to first remove one of the end frames. That avoids pulling out the queen on the first comb, maybe where burr comb rubs against her. The beekeeper then “approaches” the broodnest from the side by prying frames horizontally into a working space, a wide gap where frames can be lifted from the hive without dragging bees between adjacent comb faces (see Figure 1).
Fast forward the years to when a beekeeper has dozens of hives in several apiaries, after many generations of bees have been propolizing the frames in the hive bodies. The first frame to remove calls for a more careful consideration. Confronted by a set of brood frames, medium or deep, bee-glued tight in a hive body, I usually remove the first frame from one of the first three frame positions on either side of the hive body, opting for the ones closer to the ends. Sometimes the end frames are difficult to remove vertically as the first frame out because of additional attachments to the adjacent hive wall (see Figure 2). In excessive cases, bees may even attach the side of the top bar to the hive body, and prying horizontally is likely the best way to detach the frame (see Figures 3 and 4).
Obviously when removing the first frame, no open gap comprising a working space helps ease the frame’s removal. I expect the first frame removal will be tight. I want to avoid having the queen on this comb. With the queen toward the main part of the broodnest in the center, more or less, I choose frames closer to the ends. Of course, this strategy frequently fails. A queen expanding the broodnest would be toward the edges of the hive body, right in the regions where I would be removing the first frame. That is why I remove the first frame like it has the queen.
If I feel any dragging resistance, combs starting to grind together, I stop (see below) …
