stupid basic mistake..

[DaveS]

Posting in case it helps - learnt a valuable lesson that it is vital to check when putting a hive back together to make sure there are no gaps.. At weekend put on clearer under capped super and then put on cover and lid. Went back 24 hours later to find robbng frenzy (bees and wasps) and entire previously full super empty - I left a gap in the cover and bees had entered through the roof.

Lost a whole super but it is amazing how quickly it was robbed out (hopefully from my own colonies). Will make sure I don't repeat!

Doh.

 

[enrico]

It is too easy! Had a hive that warped once and left the tiniest of gaps, same scenario. Two days and it was empty! Valuable lesson learned.

 

[Tremyfro]

Me too! After honey harvest we put the supers back on to be cleared up by the bees. Unfortunately, due to the fact that we got stung as bees were a bit cross at being disturbed again, we failed to notice that the QE wasn't straight( it is a MBA Beebox) and there was a small gap on each side of the hive. Next day, we always check early am...thank God we did...a frantic robbing going on. Our nuc was in the middle and getting caught up in it. We moved the nuc back, out of the way and decided to remove the QE completely....it has never been satisfactory anyway. We had a bit of comb left from the honey harvest of the day before. We put that in a dish in front of the hives. After a few minutes...discovering the entry had been closed...they transferred their attention to the tiny bit of honey comb. A short time later all was quiet. Phew...another lesson learnt and ticked off the New Beekeepers list of ...How Not To Be Beekeeper!

 

[Arfermo]

Motto, don't waste time and money with clearer boards. Brushing bees off frames that are worth taking for extraction and putting them one by one into empty supers with a lids on is definitely easier all round imho. A bee or two may get under the lids but when the supers and frames are moved some yards away the bees generally emerge and go home, especially if left until say 5 pm or so. Of course you still need to reassemble the hive correctly when you've finished too!!!!

 

[ratcatcher]

a good reason that I use straps on all my hives, even when it's not windy

 

[Jimy Dee]

Good reminder the correct time of year. Masking tape would be an idea around wonky supers.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Motto, don't waste time and money with clearer boards. Brushing bees off frames that are worth taking for extraction and putting them one by one into empty supers with a lids on is definitely easier all round imho. A bee or two may get under the lids but when the supers and frames are moved some yards away the bees generally emerge and go home, especially if left until say 5 pm or so. Of course you still need to reassemble the hive correctly when you've finished too!!!!

Depends on the scale of things tbh!

I had to clear and remove 18 supers last weekend (and extract them)!

It would have taken me most of the day to remove 180 frames and brush bees off!

It can also get very messy if the combs are deep and full!

I use self made rhombus clearer boards to get most bees out and then blow the rest out with a leaf blower!

It is pretty amazing how some bees can hold onto comb in such a strong air flow