Clearing supers

[its.only.money]

Hi
This is my first year beekeeping, so currently at the point where everything is a new experience/adventure.
I have a standard national, and last week was fortunate enough to harvest my first little bit of honey (7lbs).
I have put the wet super back on above the brood box and will leave it a few days for the bees to clean.

Is it ok then to put a clearer board on and force the whole colony back into the brood box so I can treat with maqs? Just still seems there are lots of bees that have had all summer with supers on, and now they will suddenly be more confined.

Thanks
Paul.


Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[bontbee]

Have a look at the directions for using MAQS and the FAQS. You'll see they advise giving extra space, if necessary, so that the bees can "spread out" when you dose them. It really is vile smelling stuff. (Don't be tempted to have a sniff at it when you open the box/bucket it comes in....)


http://www.thorne.co.uk/image/data/Documents/MAQS in bucket leaflet Instructions.pdf

http://www.bees-online.co.uk/resource-downloads/UKMAQSFAQSApril2013.pdf

 

[Heather]

And are you doing an inspection varroa drop check first.. Do you need MAQS?? It has a history of possible queen loss.. not a good idea at this time of the year as difficult to replace her .

 

[Flyinstructor]

Hi
This is my first year beekeeping, so currently at the point where everything is a new experience/adventure.
I have a standard national, and last week was fortunate enough to harvest my first little bit of honey (7lbs).
I have put the wet super back on above the brood box and will leave it a few days for the bees to clean.

Is it ok then to put a clearer board on and force the whole colony back into the brood box so I can treat with maqs? Just still seems there are lots of bees that have had all summer with supers on, and now they will suddenly be more confined.

Thanks
Paul.


Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

I have used MAQS strips on several occasions and would strongly advise you to ensure you have as a minimum 1 super above the brood box, preferably 2. I used MAQS on a double brood, when used with the strips near their expiry date, I had no problem. When I used fresh strips with over 6 months until expiry, I lost approx 500 bees in a double brood box (with open mesh floor). In addition the queens failed in two colonies in the winter following treatment. I am not suggesting there is a direct connection however I will never again use MAQS and would be very wary about using on a single brood box. These strips have a dosage designed for 10 frame Langstroth hives, a standard national is considerable smaller.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

My best performing colony also appears to have a developing varroa issue - about 15 per day natural drop - so I decided to clear the 4 supers asap to get a treatment done. It's a 14x12 but I thought there's a limit to how many bees the brood box can comfortably accommodate. I'd read somewhere that if you got a lot of supers to clear, it's a good idea to give the bees in the supers somewhere to go when the clearer board goes on so today in decent weather, I put a super with foundation in the frames under the clearer board (with the qe still in place) and put the supers, full of bees and honey, back over for clearing board - it's quite a stack for a beginner who's only had one honey harvest so far!

Tomorrow, the weather will change to rain early on then dull in the afternoon but Tuesday is brighter and warmer.

My question to experienced beekeepers is when would be best to remove the supers. Tomorrow during the rain (no bees flying), tomorrow afternoon after the rain (less likely to rile the bees) or wait for better weather on tuesday, (which means the clearer board would have been on for 2 days to clear the 4 supers).

The other thing I'm not sure about is how long to leave the "new" bee-hotel-super in place - they might draw out some of the foundation but I'm not expecting the bees to store nectar or honey in that super. Any thoughts?

CVB

p.s. sorry for hijacking your thread Paul, but my questions are about clearing so that treatment can be started.

 

[Anduril]

My best performing colony also appears to have a developing varroa issue - about 15 per day natural drop - so I decided to clear the 4 supers asap to get a treatment done. It's a 14x12 but I thought there's a limit to how many bees the brood box can comfortably accommodate. I'd read somewhere that if you got a lot of supers to clear, it's a good idea to give the bees in the supers somewhere to go when the clearer board goes on so today in decent weather, I put a super with foundation in the frames under the clearer board (with the qe still in place) and put the supers, full of bees and honey, back over for clearing board - it's quite a stack for a beginner who's only had one honey harvest so far!

Tomorrow, the weather will change to rain early on then dull in the afternoon but Tuesday is brighter and warmer.

My question to experienced beekeepers is when would be best to remove the supers. Tomorrow during the rain (no bees flying), tomorrow afternoon after the rain (less likely to rile the bees) or wait for better weather on tuesday, (which means the clearer board would have been on for 2 days to clear the 4 supers).

The other thing I'm not sure about is how long to leave the "new" bee-hotel-super in place - they might draw out some of the foundation but I'm not expecting the bees to store nectar or honey in that super. Any thoughts?

CVB

p.s. sorry for hijacking your thread Paul, but my questions are about clearing so that treatment can be started.

I'm not a fair weather beekeeper, early Monday is the day to do it. Removal of the other super,take it off before the ivy flow. Otherwise you would have to nadir it and 14x12's are heavy.

 

[drex]

@CVB. Once the clearer boards have done their job, there should be no bees in those supers, so it does not matter what weather is when you remove the supers. I put rhombus clearers on in the evening and take the supers off first thing next morning. I might get one or two bees left in the supers but that is all. My clearer boards have a 2-3 inch eke built into the underside, which gives initial space for the bees to go down into. If clearing 4 supers, I might put an empty super under the clearer board, but remove it again about 12 hours later. The bees will have all dispersed down into the BB by then. However I do run double brood

 

[its.only.money]

Thanks all for the replies and advice. Warnings about MAQS accepted but I think I am going to take a considered risk using the MAQS I have. I will leave supers on until treatment is finished so that there is plenty of ventilation.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks all for the replies and advice. Warnings about MAQS accepted but I think I am going to take a considered risk using the MAQS I have. I will leave supers on until treatment is finished so that there is plenty of ventilation.

ONE STRIP.....not two as it says on the packet

 

[peteinwilts]

ONE STRIP.....not two as it says on the packet

I used it on one of my apiarys this year with a single strip of MAQs. I lost every queen.

I have used it with success on a couple of hives last year, but this year was somewhat offputting.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I used it on one of my apiarys this year with a single strip of MAQs. I lost every queen.

I have used it with success on a couple of hives last year, but this year was somewhat offputting.

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole but the OP is set to do it so just suggesting he use the one strip.
OAV for me. If I was the OP I would order a vaporiser and do it as soon as it arrived. Worth waiting for in my mind