Is it necessary to have bees which don use much propolis?
No, this brood box works with your average bees, at least in the UK. Bees will, of course, pack every corner and crevice with propolis. They seal the opening end panel and, in British National hives, where the frame lug shoes abut the sides of the outer case. Levering the end panel with a hive tool, breaks the seal and the inner chamber then slides out easily. It is no more difficult than releasing a crown board. Of the beekeepers in the UK who have used the Drawhive, only one has had a problem that I am aware of. It turned out, that with his top bee-space hive, he had used an excluder which sat in the middle of the wood frame, this made the bee-space above the brood frames too big. The bees had built a little comb up to the excluder. He still managed to open the Drawhive, without shifting the supers, however. No one else has reported this problem. Providing the bee-space is maintained, there should be no problem with brace comb, though one can never say never, where bees are concerned
