Reading the Frame

Opening a hive can be overwhelming. To the untrained eye, a frame is just a mass of golden wax and thousands of buzzing bees. However, to a beekeeper, a frame is a detailed ledger of the colony’s health, productivity, and future. Learning to “read” what is on the comb is the most critical skill you can develop.

Types of Frames

Bees are meticulous organizers. In a healthy hive, you will generally find three functional types of frames. The bees organically use the three-dimensional space in the hive so a single frame often has portions serving each of the functions.

1. Brood Frames

Often located in the warm center of the hive, forming a sphere in the three-dimensional space. This is the “nursery” where the queen lays eggs and the next generation of workers is raised. A perfect brood frame often has a “rainbow” pattern: brood in the center, a ring of pollen/bee bread around it, and honey in the top corners. Any frame with brood (eggs, larvae or capped brood) is generally called a brood frame even if it has resources around the edges.

2. Resource / Food Frames

Usually found on the outer edges of the brood nest. These act as the colony’s “pantry,” containing the fuel needed to survive winters and the protein needed to raise young. Honey, nectar and pollen which is stored as bee bread are all food or resources for the hive.

3. Empty Frames

Frames with no brood or resources, or even minimal resources are often called empty frames. They are simply space that the bees aren’t yet utilizing. An empty frame may have empty comb on it or be blank foundation. Foundation requires significant nectar resources to draw out before it can be useful to the bees whereas empty comb is space ready for use.

What to Look For On a Frame

Eggs

Extreme macro shot of a single tiny white egg, shaped like a grain of rice, standing vertically at the base of a clean wax cell.

Eggs are the ultimate proof of a queen’s presence within the last 3 days. They look like tiny grains of rice.

  • GOOD: One egg per cell, centered at the bottom. Indicates a healthy, mated queen.
  • BAD: Multiple eggs per cell or eggs on the cell walls. This usually indicates “Laying Workers” in a queenless hive. One or two cells is not a concern, but most cells with multiple eggs is a sign of trouble.

Larvae

High-detail photo of pearly white, C-shaped larvae of varying sizes floating in clear, glistening royal jelly.

Larvae are the “open brood” stage. They should be moist and bright.

  • GOOD: “C” shaped, glistening white, and “wet” looking. This shows the colony is well-fed and hydrated.
  • BAD: Dry, yellowed, gray, or slumped larvae. Could indicate European Foulbrood (EFB) or starvation.

Capped Brood

A solid sheet of biscuit-colored, slightly convex wax cappings covering worker cells with a tight, uniform pattern.

These are the pupae. This stage tells you about the queen’s laying pattern.

  • GOOD: Solid, “wall-to-wall” patterns with very few empty holes. Cappings should be slightly convex (raised).
  • BAD: “Shotgun” patterns (lots of empty holes), sunken cappings, or greasy-looking holes. This may indicate hygienic issues or American Foulbrood (AFB).

Honey and Nectar

Wet, shimmering liquid nectar in open cells next to white-capped cured honey in a frame corner.
Nectar is raw sugar water that the bees have collected. Honey is the cured, capped version meant for long-term storage that the bees create by dehydrating the nectar. Both nectar and honey are used by adult bees for food. It is also used by the bees when they need to create wax for building out the comb in the hive.

Pollen and Bee Bread

Hexagonal cells packed with multicolored loaves of fermented pollen, showing shades of yellow, orange, and purple.

Pollen is the source of protein. Bee bread is pollen fermented with honey and enzymes for easier digestion. It is used to feed brood and is normally around the brood nest.

  • GOOD: Diverse colors (bright yellows, oranges, deep purples). Variety ensures a balanced diet.

Signs of Trouble

Queen Cells

Queen cells built along the bottom edge of a frame, typical of swarm preparation
Swarm cells — often along the bottom or margins of the frame
Emergency queen cell extending from the face of worker comb
Emergency/Supersedure cell — built from a worker cell on the comb face
Another emergency queen cell on the face of the comb
Emergency/Supersedure cell — another example on the comb face

Large, peanut-shaped structures. If found on the bottom of a frame, they are likely Swarm Cells (the hive is preparing to split). If found on the face of the comb, they are Supersedure or Emergency Cells (the hive is trying to replace a failing or dead queen). The cells are the same regardless of location, but called different things determined by the reason the bees created them. Look carefully—they can hide easily, especially on the face of frames and before they are capped.

Empty wax queen cup at the edge of comb, not yet charged with an egg
Queen cups are often found on the bottom or edge of the frame and easily hide among drone brood. They are very common and are not a concern unless they are charged. If a cup has an egg or larva in it, then it is an early-stage swarm cell.

Excessive Drone Brood

Comb showing bullet-shaped drone brood cappings, more domed than worker cells
Drone capping looks like “bullet heads”: larger and more domed than worker brood. While it is normal to see drone brood in the hive, particularly around the edges, if entire frames of drone brood make up the brood nest it indicates a drone layer or laying worker: a queen that has run out of sperm, or workers that have begun laying unfertilized eggs.