Drilling holes in supers to improve access

[weathercock]

My first post after 'ghosting' for a few months...
I'm reading David Cramp's 'A Practical Manual of Beekeeping' at the moment and would like to know what people think about his suggestion of drilling a 1cm hole in the supers to help the bees access them during a heavy flow. Alternatively, he suggests staggering the top super to leave a small gap to let them in that way. I would have thought that this could promote robbing and wasp attacks, though I can see it would save a long walk. I was under the impression that the foragers passed on their nectar to other bees to store, anyway. Perhaps that is only up at the supers, not further down near the entrance. Any thoughts? Cheers!

 

[For want of a better word]

An American book loaned to me by my Canadian cousin suggests either wedging up the super or setting it off center to allow bees access without passing through the main entrance... when the giggleweed is in flower and the tuannallar trees are smokin !

Must go me grits are getting cold!!

 

[knotty]

My first post after 'ghosting' for a few months...
I'm reading David Cramp's 'A Practical Manual of Beekeeping' at the moment and would like to know what people think about his suggestion of drilling a 1cm hole in the supers to help the bees access them during a heavy flow. Alternatively, he suggests staggering the top super to leave a small gap to let them in that way. I would have thought that this could promote robbing and wasp attacks, though I can see it would save a long walk. I was under the impression that the foragers passed on their nectar to other bees to store, anyway. Perhaps that is only up at the supers, not further down near the entrance. Any thoughts? Cheers!

Hi weathercock,

Having recently constructed a new honey super slightly wonkily, I wouldn't recommend it! After having it in-situ for just three days I found to my horror yesterday evening a robbing frenzy and a much lighter super! My shoddy construction left a small 5ml gap along one side so the crown board did not fit snugly. I observed an ariel assault with bees crawling under the roof (carrying goodness knows what disease) to get at the goodies and fly off fully loaded with my bootie! Arrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!!

Newish-beek-school-boy-painful-error! Won't be doing that again!
Good luck

 

[Onge]

Never heard of anyone in the UK doing this.

 

[Finman]

.
I use upper entrances. They are usefull in many ways.Best are holes in brood box wall. Upper most super do not need open holes. Clearly hole keeps super too cool and bees do no like to store and cap near entrance.

 

[Midland Beek]

I was under the impression that the foragers passed on their nectar to other bees to store, anyway.

Yup. The foragers pass nectar to hive bees just inside the entrance and then it gets passed from bee to bee - trophylaxis. As it is passed from bee to be each adds enzyme to break down the sugars. In ths short term, some honey ends up above the brood nest so that the warmth before its later re-distribution for storage.

 

[GingerNut]

I tried this last year..........there is a thread somewhere.........the bees just filled the holes up with propolis.

So a waste of time.

Yours Roy

Found the thread - http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6399

 

[Chris Luck]

I've got two propped up with wedges on the front edge but the bees hardly use it to go in and out preferring the normal entrance at the bottom. The spaces are well guarded, both strong colonies so no robbing, in fact strangely I never have any robbing that I've noticed even on small colonies...

Chris

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Robbing and wasps aside, I personally wouldn't want to intentionally damage a super or brood box by drilling a hole in it unless there was a very very clear benefit.

 

[weathercock]

Thanks for that, everyone! I don't think I'll be doing any drilling...

 

[BILL.HEARD]

Once had some old commercial brood chambers with holes in the side for summer use. They had rubber plugs used in baths to close them up for winter.
Used them once or twice with large stocks, no robbing was seen.