8-way clearer

[ShinySideUp]

I used a yellow, eight-way escape overnight and it did not go well. Super was still full of bees and eight-way escape was blocked and full of dead bees. I have no idea what can have can wrong, did I leave it in too long so they started to find their way back in? Can bees walk backward? The dead bees were in the central circle not in the escape channels themselves. Perhaps I needed a bigger hole in the wood it is presently 32mm.

 

[Noddy]

Did you have enough room under the clearer board for the bees to get out easily? I use half depth ekes on my clearer boards.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Did you have enough room under the clearer board for the bees to get out easily? I use half depth ekes on my clearer boards.

I made a frame for the board using 2 x 1 wood with the shorter side making the height so they had an inch of space above the brood box frames.

 

[Hachi]

Its been posted many times, when putting clearer boards on you should allow enough space below the clearer board to accommodate all the bee's in the supers you are moving down into the hive. As a rule of thumb, put a clearer board on, to clear two supers, place two empty supers below the clearer board. Simples

 

[Amari]

Its been posted many times, when putting clearer boards on you should allow enough space below the clearer board to accommodate all the bee's in the supers you are moving down into the hive. As a rule of thumb, put a clearer board on, to clear two supers, place two empty supers below the clearer board. Simples

Crazy! OTT!
Tomorrow I'll be clearing two supers on each of six hives. The boards only have an inch clear below each rhombus. A board under each super. Always works. (bees are noticeably fewer than a couple of months ago i.e. queen egg-laying is slowing down so plenty of space for bees in double brood boxes below. If this was May, taking off oilseed rape honey, I would place a super with foundation or drawn comb below the two supers to be cleared - but never two empty supers!)

 

[Hachi]

what part of rule of thumb did you miss?

 

[ShinySideUp]

Bump

But can bees walk backwards? I've never seen it but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

 

[fatshark]

Yes, they can go through a clearer the wrong way ... try putting a full super (empty of bees) on top of a clearer on a hive.

Similarly, if you leave a clearer on too long there always seem to be more bees in the top box than there should be.

I've noticed this year that a clearer appears to work less well if the colony is queenless.

Finally, even clearing three supers I'd only have a max of one super underneath the clearer (not least because I've probably run out of supers!). My clearers are the design posted by poly hive many eons ago, with a 30mm lower rim.

 

[deemann1]

I made mine up with 125mm under board