To use a queen excluder between brood box and feeder?

[SenatorMagenut]

We seem to have reached page 2. alert!

I was worried about the queen coming up to the feeder and out into the rest of the super. My weird contact feeder needs to sit on two wooden spacers to leave bee space underneath.

Also it is possible to enter the super around the roof.

****************************************************

Tim take a

I do know what I'm doing it's called beekeeping.
I've read a lot of book and done a lot of research online.

Don't worry, my bees are in safe hands,
Senatormagenut

 

[SenatorMagenut]

Also this is a forum for new beekeepers and people interested in beekeeping to exchange information with each other and with more experienced beekeepers. If you have a problem with the fact that there are going to be basic beekeeping principles discussed then you really shouldn't be here.

 

[tonybloke]

contact feeders DON'T NEE£D ANY WOODEN BLOCKS BENEATH THEM!!

the hint is in the name, 'contact'.
the lid is supposed to lay directly over the feeding hole in the board, the bees access it through the hole, and lick the syrup through the mesh

it should not be possible for bees to access the super via the roof, either.

perhaps you need an experienced beekeeper to have a look at your hive, and how it's set up? ask at your local association for a mentor / advisor, the associations usually have someone local who is willing to advise new beekeepers.

 

[SenatorMagenut]

This is surprising entertaining.

I'm just going to assume that you people are the annoying trolls that come here late at night and annoy people so I'm just going to go to bed now...

Bye

 

[village girl]

am i right in thinking you picked your swarm/nuc up on monday evening ? if so you realy should Not be opening the hive up just yet, top up the feeder when needed, and leave the bees alone for a while too much disturbance and they will take longer to settel in, i know its hard not to look but patiance has its own rewards

 

[tonybloke]

This is surprising entertaining.

I'm just going to assume that you people are the annoying trolls that come here late at night and annoy people so I'm just going to go to bed now...

Bye

yep, I'm a troll,
giving away loads of swarms I collect
visiting other beekeepers (some over 30 miles away) to help out with their bees 'cos they can't deal with aggressive colonies
mentoring 3 beekeepers last year (practical help, as well as on the phone)
helping build loads of nuc boxes for a charity bee keeping project (with hedgerow pete)
swarm co-ordinator for South Norfolk
fully paid member of both the Norfolk & the Suffolk BKA
on the committee of my local association

and trying to give advice, based on my experience, on here.

It may be late at night, but I don't like your assumptions!

Regards, Tony.

 

[hiveabee]

This is surprising entertaining.

I'm just going to assume that you people are the annoying trolls that come here late at night and annoy people so I'm just going to go to bed now...

Bye

Nahh i am just back from the Pub. you'll get to like this forum

 

[Outlander]

Senator apart from the entertainment on here you also do get some very good advice along with it. Good luck with your nuc.


I agree with GRUMPY.

 

[hiveabee]

Also this is a forum for new beekeepers and people interested in beekeeping to exchange information with each other and with more experienced beekeepers. If you have a problem with the fact that there are going to be basic beekeeping principles discussed then you really shouldn't be here.

This forum as helped me a lot. And its also FUN. but you cant beat hands on experience with a good mentor or association meetings!!!!

 

[The Cumbrian]

This is surprising entertaining.

I'm just going to assume that you people are the annoying trolls that come here late at night and annoy people so I'm just going to go to bed now...

Bye

Its not late at night and I am certainly not a troll, but I can't see what you problem is with the replies you have had.

Even my limited experience tells me bees should not be able to get into the space of the lid and contact feeders should be ...... make a wild guess.


That's right in contact. They sit on the hole in the board blocking it.

 

[Poly Hive]

And some of us wonder why we bother?

A contact feeder if memory serves as not used one for 20+ years has a bee space under it and the rim serves as a bee proof seal.

I suggest too that you seek a local mentor who can give you some hands on advice as there appears to be a need here, and also to do some reading on the basics.

Enjoy your bees.

PH

 

[jackbee]

My weird contact feeder needs to sit on two wooden spacers to leave bee space underneath.

Also it is possible to enter the super around the roof.

That's your problem - the wooden spacers - that is weird.

It shouldn't be possible to enter the super around the roof - ventilation yes, bee space - no

 

[alanf]

I was worried about the queen coming up to the feeder and out into the rest of the super. My weird contact feeder needs to sit on two wooden spacers to leave bee space underneath.

Also it is possible to enter the super around the roof.

I have seen improvised contact feeders on spacers: pickle jars with nail holes in the lid balanced on twigs over a feed hole. Those bees don't build comb in the space above the feed hole, but there are other colonies so keen on wild comb building they might.

All the commercially produced contact feeders I've seen have a built in ridge that doesn't need extra spacing.

The roof should not have gaps that allow bees into the supers below. That's going to cause problems with robbing if other colonies or wasps can get in. Keeping smaller creatures like a few ants out is harder.

 

[Teemore]

Even if the feeder is improvised out of an old jar with holes in the lid, if it is sitting over a feed hole spacers are not really needed - the bee space is going to be formed by the depth of your crown board and in part, the bee space between the tops of the frames and the crown board.
My view is that the contact feeder should sit flat on the crown board above the feed hole. If the contact feeder is home made, just make sure that the area of punched holes are directly above the feed hole.

 

[MandF]

But if the feed holes/mesh is in contact with wood, wont it just continually wick?

 

[flemage]

Senatormagenut

Some times its hard on the forum to be able to 'see' what is meant in the question. Contact feeders can mean different things to different people, some like me (a cheap sake) it means a 2.5 litre lunch box with holes drilled in the top that I turn upside down and try as best I can to get it over the feed hole. I have never even thought about putting it on spacers (still learning)! To others it’s a thor*es bucket with bee space and a fine mesh to will allow bees access.

What really helps is a photo if you can. I have for some time been trying to get my Iphone to work while wearing rubber gloves (now I didn’t think of that when I was in the shiny shop parting with lots of cash).

I think there were some other issues going on in your thread that had little to do with the content of the question. Please do stick with it though it IS well worth it.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[scuttlefish]

I have seen improvised contact feeders on spacers: pickle jars with nail holes in the lid balanced on twigs over a feed hole.

Yep, fed that way for my first two years and it worked fine, two upturned jars over the feed holes (QX in place below) & surrounded by an frameless super.

The bees fed fine (& overwintered fine), and built lots of lovely brace comb which I broke down each time I topped up the feeders and added to my wax bucket.

Switched to Ashforths this year 'cos I'm an equipment junkie and wanted "proper" feeders, but won't have half as much brace comb now...

 

[thorn]

Sorry to all the more experienced beeks on here BUT there are some threads
that shout "I don't know what I'm doing"

Tim

Could that not be the very reason that new beekeepers (and some more experienced, but meeting a particular issue for the first time) come on this Forum? They don't know what they're doing and they're seeking help. It's all very well saying read the books, but books are often poorly or impenetrably written or assume a degree of knowledge without which they are of no help at all.

The responses nearly always show that there's more than one way to skin a cat, but unfortunately the differing schools of thought sometimes behave like pupils from neighbouring schools, beating each other up.

MandF and RAB, agree to differ, stop fratching at each other and just post your (usually) very helpful advice. The rest of us can then decided which of you to follow on any particular point.

 

[oliver90owner]

I will always agree to differ - as long as the other way is viable, which patently is not the case for some postings (no names need to be mentioned).

New beeks need to work out who the trolls are. Trash information/so-called 'advice' from some is just plain that - trolling. Most attempt to give good advice and try their best, often getting it correct, but some don't have that much ability.

 

[MandF]

So, question asked = can I use a queen excluder to be sure the queen isnt laying in brace comb around the feeder.

Answer to that direct question is clearly "yes". Thats what queen excluders do, they exclude the queen from areas we do not want her to go.

The secondary issue is why there is brace comb. The answer is the OP is using a feeder which allows bees into the roof space.

Solution = fix feeder problem, and until that is done use a queen excluder.