Foundation
Start with a strong foundation! Find out why beekeepers and bees prefer bee foundation products by Mann Lake. Sheets of beeswax or plastic foundation embossed with a honeycomb pattern are placed in each frame to serve as a base for the bees to make honeycomb. We recommend using our best-selling waxed Rite-Cell foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rite-Cell® foundation is a plastic foundation with the cell structure embedded into the plastic. It requires no pinning or reinforcement of any kind and can be easily inserted into an assembled frame with grooved top and bottom bars. The cell structure is deeper and has better acceptance rates than other brands do. The cells of our plastic foundations are more defined and textured, which we have found to be more appealing to the bees. A pure beeswax foundation requires time-consuming reinforcement and is often prone to wax-moth damage and chew-down by the bees. With Rite-Cell®, if wax moths enter and damage your hive, one would only need to scrape off the damage and reinsert the frames into the hive.
The bees are attracted to the scent of the beeswax that is sprayed on the waxed Rite-Cell®, and they tend to draw it out quicker than the unwaxed does. Unwaxed is generally purchased by commercial beekeepers because of the cost savings associated with buying in larger volumes. Bees will draw out the unwaxed; it usually just takes a little longer.
Assembled frames with Perma-Dent Foundation are wax-coated for use in your beehives. These are made in Hackensack, Minnesota, and are BPA/BPS-free! It features a precision cell shape and offers an excellent place for your bees to start building a comb. Perma-Dent comes with the bottom corners of the foundation already cut to form communication holes. Bees like to crawl through them on their way from one frame to another. This medium brood foundation was designed with our customers in mind! This bee foundation has glued and stapled frames, resulting in a top-quality product that can’t be beat! Assembled frames are shipped to you with our economical Perma-Dent Foundation already inserted, so all that’s left for you to do is install them in your boxes.