eke with comb in.

[darren64]

When I went to put the second apiguard tray in today the eke is being filled with comb and filled with honey(the crown board and the eke were joined together)there are 3,1/2 brood frames that haven't been drawn out yet,I have heard that foundation loses its smell after a while and bees are reluctant to draw it out,if I put new foundation in the frames would they draw it out?Also I am not feeding this hive as I intend to put a full super back on after the varroa treatment,is this correct?

 

[Dishmop]

Similar thing happened to me after I had tested how well feeding with a zip-lock bag worked. They built a load of burr comb.... so I a made another deeper eke, put it underneath and let them get on with it....

 

[MuswellMetro]

i assume you are on a small standard brood hive as it often happens if your Bees have not yet downsized for winter



if you find they are also bearding outside after the Apiguard, then they are trying to tell you something

 

[oliver90owner]

Doubt they will build wax in brood frames if there is space above, where it is warmer. Would you choose to sit in an out-house or a more cosy room upstairs?

They might draw some if the rest of the space upstairs is filled, but it is getting a bit late this year, as things are much cooler than this time last year.

If they don't, just dummy out the ends of the brood box with insulated dummies or dividers. With a super above, they should have more than enough stores.

Regards, RAB

 

[BlueMonsoon]

Cut out a piece of fine mesh the same size as the apiguard tray, place the mesh over the hole in the crown board, then invert the apigard tray, open side down and place it on top of the mesh, put your roof back on, no eke needed. That's it.
The mesh it to stop them pulling out the apiguard, which they do like to do. This works well for us...

 

[oliver90owner]

The mesh it to stop them pulling out the apiguard

And I thought that part of the treatment regime was for the bees to disperse it around the colony by steady removal of the constituents from the package.

Quote from the Vita website: The thymol, although not in the tray, is active throughout the colony during this time, having been carried around by the housecleaning bees.

RAB

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Also I am not feeding this hive as I intend to put a full super back on after the varroa treatment,is this correct?

Only as long as they have sufficient stores to keep them going, if not then you need to feed.

 

[Heather]

The mesh it to stop them pulling out the apiguard

And I thought that part of the treatment regime was for the bees to disperse it around the colony by steady removal of the constituents from the package.

Quote from the Vita website: The thymol, although not in the tray, is active throughout the colony during this time, having been carried around by the housecleaning bees.

RAB

 

[drstitson]

housekeeping

having seen what bees manage to lug out of hives i think the idea is that the housekeeping bees disperse small amounts of the thymol and support matrix around the hive NOT big chunks. So they can still do this through mesh but without chance of them dumping bigs lumps of your precious treatment outside.

 

[oliver90owner]

darren64 wrote: Also I am not feeding this hive as I intend to put a full super back on after the varroa treatment,is this correct?

I would think you are OK at the moment - they are obviously drawing comb in the eke and would be filling with 'surplus to immediate-requirements stores'.

That may change but there should, at present, be a good 'honey arch' above the brood. In fact you may find the gap between brood and arch is somewhat diminished with comparison to the 'norm'.

Only you will know for sure as you don't mention amounts of brood and stores in your post.

Regards, RAB

 

[buzz bee]

When I went to put the second apiguard tray in today the eke is being filled with comb and filled with honey(the crown board and the eke were joined together)there are 3,1/2 brood frames that haven't been drawn out yet,I have heard that foundation loses its smell after a while and bees are reluctant to draw it out,if I put new foundation in the frames would they draw it out?Also I am not feeding this hive as I intend to put a full super back on after the varroa treatment,is this correct?

Mine did the same. I think the Apiguard ekes sold by the suppliers are too deep. I took off all the comb and laid it on the top of the frames. They had taken all the honey down by the next look and I could remove the empty comb. Next year I'm going to make my own eke, at half the depth.

 

[RoofTops]

Any space larger than a bee space will be filled by comb if the bees need the room. I have had this problem before and realised after the event I made the mistake of removing in my case a second Langstroth brood chamber assuming the bees could fit into the remaining one. At the same time I gave them an empty super with an Apiguard tray. They had completely filled the super with comb when I came to put the second tray in after a couple of weeks. I left them to it and took it all apart in the spring - a very messy operation.

I now use Api Life Var as it doesn't need an eke.

 

[Vergilius]

Also I am not feeding this hive as I intend to put a full super back on after the varroa treatment,is this correct?

Are you going to keep them as a brood and a 1/2 after this?



Ben P

 

[darren64]

Are you going to keep them as a brood and a 1/2 after this?



Ben P

yes!is it better to put the super under,or above the brood box?

 

[drstitson]

AFAIK a full super (25lbs) will be ok so long as you have AT LEAST 4 frames (16lb) full in the brood box.