Burr Comb

Burr comb is wax comb that honeybees build onto a frame or another hive part when there is much more than a 1/4" to 3/8" gap (bee space) between surfaces in the hive.  If two hive parts, such as frames or a frame and the hive wall, are widely separated, bees may build burr comb between the parts to have extra comb and possibly to achieve proper bee space.  Feral colonies of honeybees may also build burr comb in a large gap, such as a tree knot, to create their honeycomb structure in the wild.

Burr comb is distinguished from brace comb by the fact that burr comb does not contact multiple surfaces significantly, as is the case when the bees build large surfaces of connected comb between hive parts that are closer to brace them together, primarily to achieve bee space.  The examples above show some burr comb that one of my new colonies built onto the bottom of a hive-top feeder when I had intentionally spaced the frames apart to house the queen cage during package installation.

Bee Space
Brace Comb

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