Oil Seed Rape

[DonkeyDonz]

If I were to put some frames of partially extracted OSR into a super above a young swarm colony and they take it down as brood box stores to mix with other stores, will they still be able to extract it during the winter months?

 

[Ian123]

if you can convince them to take it down!! you may need to add a empty super between brood and super/frames am also guessing its crystalised by now so a fine mist spray can help if you can be bothered....most of my sites get a decent ivy flow with now ill affect when wintering on some crystalized stores

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Place the super under the brood box on a closed floor. Make a small eke (spacer) between super and brood box with a small entrance so the bees go into the hive between the two boxes. bees are more likely to bring the stores up.

Alternatively, keep the super off for now and allow the colony to grow and gentle feed until the middle of September and then pop the super underneath and leave it until after winter.

 

[oliver90owner]

Bees don’t move honey down unless it is to be consumed. More likely they will add nectar to those frames.

 

[DonkeyDonz]

Would this work?

Open mesh floor & entrance
OSR frames in super
Queen excluder
Brood box
Queen excluder
Crown board
Roof

 

[Madge]

Would this work?

Open mesh floor & entrance
OSR frames in super
Queen excluder
Brood box
Queen excluder
Crown board
Roof

Why would you want to put a queen excluder under the brood box? Are you worried the nadired shallow (the super at the bottom of the stack) might get filled with brood?

In that case, at this time of the year, even without the eke Hebegeebee mentioned, the queen is unlikely to move down into the nadired shallow.

Also, if there are drones in the hive, how will they get out?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I don’t know whether I would be happy putting a whole box of stores just behind the entrance with so many wasps about

 

[DonkeyDonz]

Yes Erica, looking at the hive this morning with the super above the brood box there is plenty of debri with tens of wasps feeding under the hive but not trying to gain access via the hive entrance.

 

[DonkeyDonz]

Thinking I'll either leave as it is or adopt the blocked entrance/OSR super/eke with entrance/brood box technique!

 

[Madge]

I’ve never used a low eke when I nadir a shallow. It works fine without - but perhaps an eke helps even more. I don’t know.
PS: but bearing in mind Erica’s caution, reduce the entrance.