moving stores/thymol question

[Cuckmere couple]

so

following local association advice i have used a little thymol in autumn feeding to help protect against nosema

i had thought that providing I dont spin brood frames (which I havent done) I would keep any of this sugar syrup/thymol in the brood chamber

However....im just wondering if there is a risk that they move this up into supers and contaminate honey - I think two of my colonies still have lots of brood frames full of stores

is this a risk?

I am also a little confused about working hard in autumn to get bees fed for winter (mine took down a lot of syrup and ended up with 6-8 full brood frames of stores) when the bees dont move far enough away from cluster to access these frames and you cant open up hive (winter) to move them around...am i being very daft?

 

[enrico]

Yes it is a risk that they will move stores I to the supers hence the reason that feeding is a fine art. Just enough to see them through the winter. If the bees are fit and healthy now I would not be adding extra food onto lighter hives unless I really needed to.
The bees will generally find the stores, the only time that may not happen is if they work in one direction in a really long cold spell and leave some on the other side of the hive. This is a very rare occurrence in my opinion.

 

[Cuckmere couple]

ok, thanks Enrico

i gave the 3 hives some fondant as insurance but havent fed with anything else

one colony has nearly finished the fondant (i cut out a square in celotex for the up turned tub of fondant so can see it without disturbing)

 

[Poly Hive]

The trick is to have the brood frames full of brood prior to adding supers.

Many super far too early and thus run the risk you are querying.

Let's say we are talking National here with 11 brood frames. Two of which should be pollen. Leaves 9? So with judicious bruising and manipulating the brood nest is expanded up to 8 frames which in my view is the point at which to super. The one remaining frame of stores is removed and a foundation added.

This process makes as sure as one can be that no sugar can be moved up into the honey.

KISS

PH

Gone painting poly.... laters

 

[masterBK]

As I have mentioned on this forum before, as a judge I occasionally come across thymol tasting honey on the showbench. The odds of it coming from Thyme growing in local gardens are pretty low!.

 

[Poly Hive]

Which backs up what I have long known which is that people don't know how to work the BB.

I remember after a lecture that Mobus did in some rural village hall all about precisely this, that a worthy plus mate came out and one said to the other:

"I didna get a bit o that *****, I pits on supers and I taks them aff."

Aye well....

PH

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Or take those broods with thymol stores out for nucs later in the year

 

[Cuckmere couple]

Yes...that’s a good point

I’d thought after posting I can hold them back for nucs