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I've a super on a hive which is around 80% full of stores and in which the bees have capped around 60% of those stores. So far so good. But the level of filling and capping hasn't really changed much in the last 4 weeks or so. Every time I check I expect to find it full, capped and ready for...

The photo is a little distorted and makes it look as if it's on a brood box. But in fact it's on a lift and it fits surprisingly neatly between two lifts. I've also made a bigger hole as suggested. So now, I just need to try it out when I get the chance.

Thanks. Well, I think I've constructed something similar which appears to fit neatly between two lifts. I've drilled a 10mm hole in the front which ought to be big enough to let the drones out. Now just looking for a chance to try it out....

I did read it (see my OP), found it very useful and from it I understood the principle of separating the queen from the brood as a swarm-prevention exercise. I wasn't quite clear, however, why that needed to be done with supers rather than a board (hence my question) since the sticky implied...

OK, I think I'm getting it now. Thanks for the pics. Just so I'm crystal clear, in the configuration you're suggesting @elainemary (ie, floor, BB, board, BB, supers, crown board) there actually aren't any supers between the two BBs, just your board. So the bees in the lower BB put their stores...

So, just to be clear @elainemary the board lets the drones and bees out of the upper BB but inside the envelope of lifts. Then they use the same main exit as the other bees? Is that correct? Related question. In a Demaree, what is the function of the super(s) between the two BBs? What if one...

OK, that's clear. So how does one manage that with a WBC? Do I put/make and eke with an entrance in it to go under the top brood-box? If I do then bees from both boxes will be using the same main [outer] entrance to the hive. Is that a problem? There's no danger that the queen from the Q+ box...

Reading the very useful sticky about Demaree (which I have not yet tried but have on my 'do do' list for next season) I was struck by the suggestion of making an alternative entrance in the top Brood Box. How does that work with a WBC hive? Is it important?

I managed to mark the queen in two of my hives; not very expertly but good enough to have helped me find them since. In both cases I managed by chance to catch her in a crown of thorns by herself and was then able to dab her. Today I eventually found the new queen in my third hive, quite small...

Just thinking ahead really... My hives are pretty happy at the moment and, as you say, there is a lot of forage around. But I was just thinking about getting my ducks in a row for the autumn/winter.

Any recommendations as to where to buy fondant online?

I've three WBC hives. The Southern one is the one which (I think) produced some swarm cells about three weeks ago. I nuc'd the queen, let them hatch a new one and I saw what I thought was her heading off on her mating flight on Sunday afternoon, around 8 days after she'd emerged. That looked all...

Interesting. Thanks. Wow, this is certainly a learning curve....

OK, so in the continuing saga... Checked the parent hive today to find that the QC I'd identified earlier had indeed emerged, earlier today I assume. It still looked a really 'scruffy' QC and it appeared to have opened at the side rather than the top. Anyway, it was empty. I then found the young...

Silly question, but how long to you leave the cage in place? Until the bees have eaten their way in via the fondant? Are we talking days or hours?

Well, if I'm honest I didn't check that. But there was/is a lot of brood and she had been laying vigorously. So, I plan to check again on Sunday when I would hope that the one QC I did see has emerged. If it has then presumably I just hope that she mates OK and then we're back to normal with a...

OK, thanks. So am I right to be surprised that 5 days after the removal of the queen there aren't any emergency QCs?

I inspected again today expecting to find lots of emergency QCs since the queen was nuc'd 5 days ago. I couldn't see any. The existing QC was still there (I'd expect it to emerge on Sunday) and there were a few queen cups on the edges of some of the frames. But I couldn't see anything I...

I see. Would it be wise to put in a couple of frames of drawn foundation from a super on the parent hive?

For the moment I've left the nuc where it was (on the site of the parent hive). I had a peek inside today and fed them a little syrup. The Queen is there and there are no QCs. She/they have adequate space there (2 spare frames of un-drawn foundation) and they don't seem to be making preparations...