Getting Bees into Supers

[BMH]

I know BF mentioned it but have you checked all the spacing in the excluder...I binned an excluder three years ago as the spacing was all different some of which had big amounts of dead workers stuck in between the wires..other than that episode I have never had a problem with bees passing through.

Ill double check again but I think they are ok as plenty of colonies are going through them and no blocked bees.

 

[mbc]

How is it willy waving?

I have nowhere to store my supers, so I store them on my hive with boards in between to limit access.

In this case, I've removed the boards because I was worried they might fill up a single super very quickly, what with being on double brood I'm a very heavy flow.

Jeez. if 4 supers is willy waving then god help us!

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My apologies, in my cups last night I couldn't envisage why anyone would have 4 supers of foundation but you've sort of explained it, still they'd draw the first quicker without all that space and then you could alternate drawn and foundation in the rest.

 

[mbc]

The swarming is not so strange when you consider how long they've been confined.
I think Finman had it right several posts ago, that you just don't have enough bees. Just up the road from you many of mine are in a similar position. 3 weeks ago just 8 or 9 frames of brood, sure they're 16-18 frames of brood now but none of that brood is out foraging yet. Hives like that are going to have missed out on at least the first half of the main flow. Fortunately it seems to be quite a long flow there's 3 or 4 weeks left in it thanks to the quantities of rain we've had. Hives in that condition will catch the end of the main flow and be in great shape for Heather but you've been expecting too much from the limited numbers of older foragers in the hive.
Quantities of undrawn supers is a pain when you increase year on year( or crush and strain in good heather years). Best bet is to spread your drawn( wet stored) comb out amongst your boxes next spring . That way they'll be up into those supers like rats up a drain pipe. There's probably no more than 5 undrawn frames from the 90 new super boxes I added this year doing it this way.

Can I borrow your calendar please, it's more fancifully optimistic than mine!

 

[Poly Hive]

I have some that due to a very prolonged time for the virgins to mate post swarming are not in the supers and others are on their 2nd super of CC. So basically it's the numbers game. If they are strong they are up and if not........ it's pretty obvious eh?

PH

 

[BMH]

My apologies, in my cups last night I couldn't envisage why anyone would have 4 supers of foundation but you've sort of explained it, still they'd draw the first quicker without all that space and then you could alternate drawn and foundation in the rest.

It's no problem

Hopefully I've got a strategy to go forward.

Back to 1 or 2 supers of undrawn, lose the queen excluder for a week, do some crazy dance to the sun Gods, remove any frames of stores from brood boxes....

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[Poly Hive]

Nothing to do with excluders. It's numbers.

PH

 

[BMH]

I have some that due to a very prolonged time for the virgins to mate post swarming are not in the supers and others are on their 2nd super of CC. So basically it's the numbers game. If they are strong they are up and if not........ it's pretty obvious eh?



PH

Not when looking at the colonies. They look identical. Same number of frames of brood etc.

Plus 1 goes through the excluder and into drawing combs, the other swarms

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[BMH]

Nothing to do with excluders. It's numbers.



PH

So why do some hit the excluder and backfill the brood nest with stores and some go through and store honey in the supers and the leave the brood nest relatively light?

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[Finman]

.
You said that frame seems are packed with bees. I think that they protect brood.
4 box empty supers above brood make the hive cold...

6 Weeks rain is two brood cycles. It is much.

 

[SDM]

Can I borrow your calendar please, it's more fancifully optimistic than mine!

For which bit the length of the flow or the boost in bee numbers?

 

[BMH]

.
You said that frame seems are packed with bees. I think that they protect brood.
4 box empty supers above brood make the hive cold...

6 Weeks rain is two brood cycles. It is much.

Hmmm. Very true.

Back to one super it is.

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[Poly Hive]

Why do some backfill? Some just do. The answer to that is to not breed from them.... as for all those supers how long have I been banging on about warmth?

PH

 

[BMH]

Why do some backfill? Some just do. The answer to that is to not breed from them.... as for all those supers how long have I been banging on about warmth?



PH

If it was a case that all colonies were doing the same the answer would be simple.

but they are not. Some go through with no problem. They have done this year and every other year I have been beekeeping.

This is limited to this year and these specific colonies.

Balancing giving enough space and having them swarm is a fine balance.

Ok. 4 supers was excessive to say the least but they weren't drawing it when there was 1 super but continuing to expand below



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[mbc]

For which bit the length of the flow or the boost in bee numbers?

3 or 4 weeks left in the flow, there's a distinct slowing down amongst my bees and I've extracted the first dozen or so supers of the early bramble honey, very pale quite mild honey but with a nice floral hint of aftertaste.

 

[BMH]

3 or 4 weeks left in the flow, there's a distinct slowing down amongst my bees and I've extracted the first dozen or so supers of the early bramble honey, very pale quite mild honey but with a nice floral hint of aftertaste.

Where I am the RBWH has literally started this week. Some of them are still in bud.

They flower for a good 3/4 weeks up here.

Last two weeks of August will still be flowing up here if the sun is out.



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[mbc]

Where I am the RBWH has literally started this week. Some of them are still in bud.

They flower for a good 3/4 weeks up here.

Last two weeks of August will still be flowing up here if the sun is out.



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Things can be flowering and looking good but the flow can stop in effect if there's as much being consumed as is coming in

 

[BMH]

Things can be flowering and looking good but the flow can stop in effect if there's as much being consumed as is coming in

Agreed, but from experience, where I am, August sees very good returns in terms of honey production.

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[mbc]

Agreed, but from experience, where I am, August sees very good returns in terms of honey production.

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August produced here last year too but last summer was the exception rather than the rule, I'm more used to robbing pressure mounting from wasps and bees at that time

 

[eltalia]

Well, it is...

Exactly the same.

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Cannot be. Totally illogical to insist different.
See post #33 for context.

Buuuut whatever... you're being led a merry dance
so I leave you tuit with "do n0t remove any QX" as
a final free clue.

Compliments etc etc...

/0ff

Bill

 

[BMH]

August produced here last year too but last summer was the exception rather than the rule, I'm more used to robbing pressure mounting from wasps and bees at that time

Also, my colonies are between 700-900ft.

It definitely still yields around then on an average year.

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