Starter Strip For Beehive Frames

Introduction

Like foundation, starter strips encourage the bees to draw straight comb. However, starter strips feature a few advantages over regular foundations. Unlike plastic foundation, much of the comb can still be cut for harvesting, without the cost or hassle of wax foundation. Starter strips also use less plastic, saving both filament and print time. The only disadvantage is the bees are a little more likely to draw crooked comb than with full foundation.

As I don't keep bees myself, I designed this model in partnership with a local beekeeper. She uses a more natural approach with her apiary, so I designed the starter strip in the same way. The bottoms of each cell feature the trihedral shape found in natural comb. Furthermore, the cells match the most common size made by North American honeybees, 5.2 mm.

Printing

Requires a brim but not supports.

(Optional) Use 1 perimeter on the comb to reduce stringing, while keeping 2 perimeters for the non-comb part. See the provided '3mf' file for an example of how to do this.

After printing, remove the brim and clean off any stringing.

Use

Apply a small amount of beeswax to the comb-area of the starter strip. This will encourage the bees to build comb.

Install the starter strip into a Langstroth frame by pressing it into the top groove. Sometimes frames are a little out of spec, so here's some workarounds:

• If the strip is too long, it can easily be trimmed to size with a knife or similar.

• If the strip is loose in the groove, it can be cemented with a little wax.

You can now add the frame to your hive.

Discussion Notes

After collecting some feedback from local beekeepers, I wanted to share a few points that came up in discussion.

Warping in heat: While the temperature inside a hive stays relatively stable over the summer, some apiarists reported past experiences where PLA and PETG prints warped. Some filaments contain additives that lower the glass transition temperature of the plastic, making warpage possible at lower temps. For this project, stick to filaments with less fillers and avoid "high speed" variants.

Food safety: While it's true that anything inside a hive gets covered in wax, propolis, or both, some contact between this print and honey is possible. Honey is food, and the food contact safety of 3D prints remains an ongoing discussion.  It is often stated as fact that 3D prints are unsanitizable and therefore unsafe for food contact. However, the number of papers published on 3D printing continues to rise, and research on the matter is starting to suggest otherwise. This paper (which completed peer review in 2025) suggest that warm water and soap are sufficient to bring surface bacteria to "safe levels." While I'm not trying to suggest the matter is settled, I would encourage those that were taught to never mix 3D prints and food to consider the changing research landscape. Regardless, there is always the option to not harvest honey from frames with this foundation.

Open Source

In addition to the model files, I've shared STEP files for CAD. If you remix the design (ex: making it fit other frame standards), please share it!

Enjoy

Thanks for using our file!

While we've done some testing with the model, there might be room for improvement. Let us know how these work in your hive.

Credits

• Thank you to my local beekeeper Nicky Speg (last photograph, right) for collaborating with me on this.

• Bee Comb Macro Photography By Waugsberg (talk · contribs) - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2009806