tips for getting bee's to move into a super.

[garethbryson]

Can anybody give me a few tips for getting bees to start moving up into a super to start drawing out foundation(fresh Foundation). The colony is a good strong one with not alot of room left in the national brood box. The super has been on for 2 weeks now and still nothing. While inspection today i gave all the frames a good squirt of sugar solution to see if that helps.

 

[milkermel]

just checking but have you left the queen excluder out for the time being?? I had the same problem when I first started until someone advised me to remove QX of course you need to keep an eye open and make sure that when you put it back in you dont trap her upstairs!

 

[garethbryson]

no, QX still in place. I shall remove it!!!

 

[richardbees]

- I wouldn't!

 

[adrian wilford]

put in a couple of drawn frames in with the foundation, even better if they have some honey in

 

[garethbryson]

put in a couple of drawn frames in with the foundation, even better if they have some honey in

I'm afraid i dont have either.

 

[Stephenw]

You could try using hair dryer on the foundation to draw the wax scent out. This could encourage them up.

Steve

 

[busybee53]

Make sure that the super you want them to move into is just above the brood box and that any other supers e.g. with honey are on top of the empty one.

 

[garethbryson]

The hair drier was going to be my next move. its the only super on the box.

 

[chickendave]

IMO leave off the QX and bruise any capped stores that are in the brood frames and they shoud start to move up into the super and start drawning out the foundation

 

[jezd]

- I wouldn't!

90% of time when you add supers at this time of the year the queen wont lay in them, its late season and many advise to leave QE off for moves to heather etc

worst case once they start working the super you can push the bees down into the BB and add a QE then

 

[Chris B]

I think part of the problem is they've not had sufficient nectar coming in recently, due to cooler wet weather. I don't know about your location, but in some places there won't be any more honey stored at all.

 

[richardbees]

Hadn't thought of that - Chris has got a point i.e. maybe they just don't need/want to move up.

I still strongly recommend you leave the QE on if you add a super.

 

[badger65]

Don't worry they will move when they are ready. I posted something similar some time ago and then they went on to draw about 5 frames in as many days.

 

[Mike a]

How many frames are they covering thickly, if they don't need to expand they won't always expend the time, energy and resources if they still have plenty of space, limited amounts of nectar coming in or the young bees have enough work to do in the brood chamber (filling and capping the arc's at the tops of frames and creating a honey frame at one or both ends of the hive).

I've found the best time to add supers is when there is a strong flow, and or cramped conditions and plenty of idle young bees. IE building up towards swarm conditions.

 

[kighill]

When you take the Q Excluder off, use your hive tool and uncap some honey from the brood frames, apply this honey lightly onto a couple of your middle foundation super frames and hope for a nectar flow.

Or

Do you use a super frame in your brood box for natural varroa control? If so just move the frame into your super.

 

[Chris58]

Here in France when the beekeepers want to move the brood up, they remove QX, put the super/brood box on top and then using their brushes/hive tools they literally bang on the side of the box for about one to two minutes. They smoke at the entrance at the same time. They give it a minute or two, check and usually by then it's all moving up! Sometimes they repeat this one or two times more!

 

[Chris58]

Duplicated