bees refusing to leave the super for clearing

[jenkinsbrynmair]

In my experience the holes that get blocked are the ones under the frames that allow the bees into the rhombus,

never ever seen the holes getting blocked to be honest

 

[Gilberdyke John]

In my experience the holes that get blocked are the ones under the frames that allow the bees into the rhombus, hence the eke under the super being cleared. If you happen to have a frame immediately across the hole it slows the process down. The exit holes are no problem as they only let one bee out at a time and they just filter downwards. Try leaving the eke on for three or four days and see what happens! I speak from experience when I put the eke under the rhombus by mistake this year and then for various reasons didn't remove the board and the eke. I am not saying your way is wrong I am just warning others not to leave it like that for long.

I'm struggling to believe we are talking about the same piece of kit here. When I insert a rhombus clearer board under honey only supers the bees are through it within hours. There should be no reason to leave the clearer in place for days on end

 

[Newbeeneil]

I regularly pop rhombus ,or other boards shown on the Cushman site, on in the morning and extract 4 hours later with very few bees remaining in the supers. If they don’t clear the supers it’s usually because they are queenless.

 

[Erichalfbee]

In my experience the holes that get blocked are the ones under the frames that allow the bees into the rhombus, hence the eke under the super being cleared. If you happen to have a frame immediately across the hole it slows the process down. The exit holes are no problem as they only let one bee out at a time and they just filter downwards. Try leaving the eke on for three or four days and see what happens! I speak from experience when I put the eke under the rhombus by mistake this year and then for various reasons didn't remove the board and the eke. I am not saying your way is wrong I am just warning others not to leave it like that for long.

How deep is your clearer board? Mine are all at least 7.5cm deep

 

[oxnatbees]

No one seems to be addressing WHY they're not leaving the super

Could be brood in there. Or, once I found no brood, but a spare, nervous queen hiding there, and a large bunch of workers attending her.

 

[enrico]

I'm struggling to believe we are talking about the same piece of kit here. When I insert a rhombus clearer board under honey only supers the bees are through it within hours. There should be no reason to leave the clearer in place for days on end

Because I use a clearer board for other than clearing honey supers. For example when I have let the bees clean out a super of wet frames. I just shove it on a clearer board at the end so that I know there are no bees left in. I have to confess that I sometimes dont get round to removing that box for a few days.
I wasn't trying to be pedantic. I was just saying that if you give bees a space above their frames with nothing in it for any length of time they will fill it with comb very quickly. It was not really meant to be a should or shouldn't situation, just a word of caution that was all.

 

[enrico]

How deep is your clearer board? Mine are all at least 7.5cm deep

Min are not as they are home made

 

[Erichalfbee]

Min are not as they are home made

So are mine.
Now I understand why you have an eke under your clearer. Mine is built in

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So are mine.
Now I understand why you have an eke under your clearer.

I don't.
OK, if you are running top beespace you need a10mm shim under the frames but not an eke - that needs to be under the escapes not above them

 

[polymath]

Overnight ports, eight way clearers in 4 hrs though

 

[Erichalfbee]

I don't.
OK, if you are running top beespace you need a10mm shim under the frames but not an eke - that needs to be under the escapes not above them

I thought they were under the escapes. I’ll read it again. No reason to have any over the escape

 

[Erichalfbee]

I thought they were under the escapes. I’ll read it again. No reason to have any over the escape

Ah… unless the escape holes are narrower than the bottom bars

 

[enrico]

So are mine.
Now I understand why you have an eke under your clearer. Mine is built in

Ah… unless the escape holes are narrower than the bottom bars

Blimey, this is turning into a saga.
Just to clarify
I like to put an eke between the super to be cleared and the clearer board because I find they clear the super faster. I may not NEED to but I like to do it. Maybe it stems from the time when I used to use porter escapes.
I do not like to put an eke under clearer board as i find that is leaving a larger space that, in my dotage should I not remove the clearer board within a couple of days for any reason, I find that they like to build wild comb there. I am just expressing the way I do things that makes me content and happy. You do what you want and what you feel is correct and needed. Life is too short for any more discussion on this

 

[Swarm]

So many ways to clear bees

 

[Swarm]

Well folk change their mind here all the time. Where Porters are ok this year, last year rhombus were the bees knees. Beekeepers’ prerogative?

No change of mind, as I said in the post you linked to in the reply you deleted, it happens every year.

 

[Erichalfbee]

No change of mind, as I said in the post you linked to in the reply you deleted, it happens every year.

It was deleted for a reason. Only moderators can see a post’s history. Picking up a deleted post and commenting on it is bad form.

 

[Erichalfbee]

So many ways to clear bees

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Blimey! How about one of these? https://media.springernature.com/lw...aObjects/40779_2020_237_Fig2_HTML.png?as=webp

 

[Newbeeneil]

Blimey! How about one of these? https://media.springernature.com/lw...aObjects/40779_2020_237_Fig2_HTML.png?as=webp

I think that would probably extract the honey at the same time!!!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think that would probably extract the honey at the same time!!!!