Clearing supers, stubborn bees!

[einsteinagogo]

Okay, first time I've encountered this dilema, bees in two of my colonies have not left the supers!

All the other colonies left, the supers with no issues, and mainly the supers were clear of bees on returning this morning at 8.00am.

The clearer boards (rhombus escapes) were put on approx 1.00pm on Saturday, so over 31 hours, and they've not shifted, and there are alot of bees, in the supers, I can see them through the clear "crown boards".

I have ensured that there is enough space underneath the clearer board for them to go down into, and I'm only taking off the top two supers.

Any ideas, I do not want to smoke them out, and taint the honey, I don't really want to remove frame by frame and shake them off, or brush them off. (unless this is the only option!).

not keen on using chemicals, or a leaf blower.

So I'm asking experienced beekeepers, presented with this problem, what do you do ?

Be Patient...?

Is weather a factor, Saturday the bees were not flying to due high cold winds, earlier this morning, winds here were high, but as the day progressed, it got warmer and warmer, and lots of bees were flying.

OSR going over, and lack of forage?

I've had many scouts looking at bait hives, and many bees in my garage today! (I had to close the door).

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Have you checked to make sure your rhombus exit holes are clear?

 

[REDWOOD]

31 hours is too long for a rhombus escape 8 hours is sufficient, what has happened is they have worked out how to go back in. cleaver little things aren't they.

 

[einsteinagogo]

Have you checked to make sure your rhombus exit holes are clear?

Yes, nothing wrong and there are clear.

 

[einsteinagogo]

31 hours is too long for a rhombus escape 8 hours is sufficient, what has happened is they have worked out how to go back in. cleaver little things aren't they.

well probably now. But they didn't leave overnight, when I went back this am at 8.00am.

and when I returned after 5 hours yesterday, they had not left, and I went back at 9.30pm, and they had not left.

So unless, in between 6pm and 9.30pm the'd left and decided to go back up....

to me, if looks like they never left!

and just these two colonies, all the others worked as planned.

Anyone use a fumeboard, and bee-quick ?

 

[REDWOOD]

i have never had that problem, if your two boards are exactly the same (size of hole/gap from top bars) then try swapping it for the one that works

 

[itma]

How tall is your board?

And, ummm, is it the right way up?

/// The other obvious snafu is that there isn't room below the board for the bees to be cleared into.
Solution to that one is to add an extra super (or two) below the clearing board to create space for the bees to move into ...

 

[Finman]

.
Shake the rest of bees out. That is simple. And brush with some tree twig. It is quicker than check the board.
.

 

[einsteinagogo]

How tall is your board?

And, ummm, is it the right way up?

/// The other obvious snafu is that there isn't room below the board for the bees to be cleared into.
Solution to that one is to add an extra super (or two) below the clearing board to create space for the bees to move into ...

4" I believe, and it's the right way up. (e.g. hole face up with escape underneath the hole).

there is space sufficient space underneath, I deliberately put two supers underneath for bees to expand into, so they are not packed in like sardines, as extraction would take me a few days, and returning next weekend.

all colonies done exactly the same, just very odd these two are behaving differently. (again bees don't read books!).

 

[maddydog]

Bee quick and a fume board works fine with me. Takes about 2 mins to clear 1-2 supers at a time depending on how stubborn they are. Doesn't appear to cause any lasting annoyance to the bees and i've not tasted almond in my honey!

I've got at least 10 to clear today so will probably carefully run the blowtorch over the fume board metal as it's a cool day.

 

[REDWOOD]

4" seems a bit large to me, mine when in place only have about 9mm from the bottom of the escape to the top of the frames and a 32mm hole seems to work best

 

[einsteinagogo]

Bee quick and a fume board works fine with me. Takes about 2 mins to clear 1-2 supers at a time depending on how stubborn they are. Doesn't appear to cause any lasting annoyance to the bees and i've not tasted almond in my honey!

I've got at least 10 to clear today so will probably carefully run the blowtorch over the fume board metal as it's a cool day.

thanks... looks like a fume board it is...

 

[einsteinagogo]

4" seems a bit large to me, mine when in place only have about 9mm from the bottom of the escape to the top of the frames and a 32mm hole seems to work best

ah, sorry, I was measuring the "eke combined height", and actually I got it wrong, the combined height is 1.5" (40mm) + cover board.

 

[tudorcd]

A cause can be some brood above the QE - the bees sit tight - and once I found a queen who they would not leave. Its a long story ...
If sophisticated methods don't work, I just go one frame at a time, use a good shake and a brush, no great deal for 2 honey boxes, and a couple of hive mats and a table of convenient height ...
Quick and easy bee keeping ?

 

[Excession]

Shake it.

 

[For want of a better word]

Put an empty super ( ie no frames) below the boxes brimming with honey ready for extraction... remove any queen excluder and give a couple of good long blasts on your bee whistle and they will all scuttle down to the brood box.... easy peezy
( I read it in a book)


Yeghes da

 

[einsteinagogo]

A cause can be some brood above the QE - the bees sit tight - and once I found a queen who they would not leave. Its a long story ...
If sophisticated methods don't work, I just go one frame at a time, use a good shake and a brush, no great deal for 2 honey boxes, and a couple of hive mats and a table of convenient height ...
Quick and easy bee keeping ?

yes, I did think this could be reason for them not moving, the queens, have gone up into supers through QX, and have started to lay.

 

[Hawklord]

Are the frames capped?

 

[einsteinagogo]

starting to be capped, hence why I wanted to get it off, before the OSR granulates.

There did seem fewer bees in the super this morning....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

give a couple of good long blasts on your bee whistle and they will all scuttle down to the brood box.... easy peezy

So are you a proponent of the yew bee whistle - cut with a blunt axe at midnight by a young maiden and lovingly polished on her inner thigh (bit difficult around here as not many maidens around old enough to be allowed out that late)
Or a staghorn whistle - the stag (not a pricket) stalked over the moors naked with but a dab of woad, and when cornered bludgeoned to death with a stout blackthorn club? and the whistle then carved with a silver hilted knife?
I believe people in the South West have an unfair advantage with the second as they can use the RSPCA deer sanctuary - where they kindly keep the deer starved and in poor condition to make the stalking easier.