Full healthy queenright brood box but bees not in super

[Paddyg]

the title says it all really. The brood box is nicely full of brood and stores where they should be, plenty of bees...the QE is in place...bee space ok...maybe a dozen workers on the drawn and undrawn super frames. Comments very welcome!

 

[Murox]

I have one in a similar state, though no excluder. I my case it will almost certainly be a lack of a flow or very little. They need a reason to draw wax, either for brood or stores.

 

[Frizzaldo]

Take out the QE

 

[Anduril]

How many frames of brood?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Take out the QE

why?

 

[Anduril]

why?

Unfortunately there is a thought going round that they are honey excluders.
The other idea spouted by associations is this is the method only for Carnies.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Unfortunately there is a thought going round that they are honey excluders.
The other idea spouted by associations is this is the method only for Carnies.

where on earth do they get these ideas from? If I didn't know any better I would think that all these BKAs do in their meeting is sit in a circle passing a big bong pipe around

 

[pargyle]

Unfortunately there is a thought going round that they are honey excluders.
The other idea spouted by associations is this is the method only for Carnies.

Yes ... the problem is not the queen excluder. The problem is probably twofold:

1. Lack of forage.

2. It's not as big a colony as the OP thinks ... you really do need a lot of bees to start drawing super frames and filling them if there is not a very big flow on.

Not sure which Mill Bank the OP lives in ... there's a few but one is in Northern Ireland and one is in Scotland and they've both had some interesting weather lately.... doesn't help the bees.

Some of answers to the questions already asked may throw a bit more light on things.

 

[fizzle]

If its lack of forage would feeding a mix of syrup and pollen not encourage them to draw out frames and Queen to lay more?

 

[Anduril]

If its lack of forage would feeding a mix of syrup and pollen not encourage them to draw out frames and Queen to lay more?

By feeding syrup to draw out the super frames, they could easily store the syrup above the excluder and taint the honey, when they finally move up. I'm awaiting the number of frames of brood, before making a further assessment.

 

[drex]

They will use it when they need it. They do nothing in advance.

 

[Paddyg]

Thanks for your responses...yes weather and forage poor in the Pennines so hope for end of season Bramble and lots of Himalayan Balsam flows soon!!!

 

[madasafish]

The other key question - unanswered so far - is how many frames of brood and eggs?

If less than 8 ,the hive may appear populous but it still has lots of space (3 or more frames) to store nectar and honey. So if there is no flow, they will eat the honey stored in the brood box and make more space for (not incoming) nectar.
So no need to use the super.

 

[tonyofarr]

We have had difficulty getting supers of foundation drawn this year because the flow has been so poor. The bees have brought the honey into the drawn supers and then eaten it when it has started raining again so they have not got the need to draw the foundation; a bit like 1 step forward and 2 back down here this year.

 

[pargyle]

We have had difficulty getting supers of foundation drawn this year because the flow has been so poor. The bees have brought the honey into the drawn supers and then eaten it when it has started raining again so they have not got the need to draw the foundation; a bit like 1 step forward and 2 back down here this year.

Yes ... mine have been very much like that .... loaded the nectar in when the spring trees were in blossom and then ate most of it in two weeks of almost constant rain. A lot of people took the crop and have been feeding their bees ever since .... strange year.

 

[jool]

Mine brought in loads of nectar from the apples and have been eating their way through it ever since.

 

[Frizzaldo]

why?

Two reasons
1)some of the plastic QE's can be badly made and the holes are smaller than required limiting the travel of the bees so you will just get some smaller bees going up
2) bees will generally move up easier if there is no QE, even if it is just to the bottom of the super frames. as they start to draw out or if queen starts to lay up there add the QE back

 

[Swarm]

Two reasons
1)some of the plastic QE's can be badly made and the holes are smaller than required limiting the travel of the bees so you will just get some smaller bees going up
2) bees will generally move up easier if there is no QE, even if it is just to the bottom of the super frames. as they start to draw out or if queen starts to lay up there add the QE back

My friend mentioned the same problem last year. I told him to change the new plastic excluders he had used and the bees were straight up.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

2) bees will generally move up easier if there is no QE,

Nonsense

 

[Patrick1]

Unfortunately there is a thought going round that they are honey excluders.
The other idea spouted by associations is this is the method only for Carnies.

Thats just gibberish