What did you do in the Apiary today?

[JamezF]

Will you start treating after the extraction?

Yes.

James

 

[JamezF]

Collected all my supers (other than the ones that were under the clearer boards) this morning. I'll leave the remaining ones on to give the bees a little more room until I go around to do my varroa treatment -- probably next weekend. Also took the opportunity to swap the last of my old wooden crown boards for insulated polycarbonate ones.

I noticed some of the bees were bringing in vibrant orange pollen. I've no idea where they might be getting that from at this time of year. It looked far too orange to be ivy.

James

 

[Nik Edser]

Quick question.. we have our first super of honey that is 3/4 full. Due to time constraints I can’t extract until next weekend.. if I leave the super on will they start to eat the honey or shall I put the clearer board on and leave the super on til next weekend?
can you leave a filled super on a hive above the clearer board for a week?
any help appreciated.

 

[Erichalfbee]

can you leave a filled super on a hive above the clearer board for a week?

Yes but they might find their way back in. Why don’t t you just clear it the night before extracting?

 

[StephenT]

Extracted the last 4 supers and earned myself a blister in the process. 77kg of summer honey from 3 hives so pretty chuffed with that. The honey is much paler and lighter tasting than last summer (as per photo). Enjoying a nice Montecristo cigar and cold beer with the chooks in the garden/apiary now.

 

[Nik Edser]

Yes but they might find their way back in. Why don’t t you just clear it the night before extracting?

Thanks wasn’t sure if the bees might start moving the honey down to the brood box given the summer flow is coming to an end?

 

[pargyle]

Thanks wasn’t sure if the bees might start moving the honey down to the brood box given the summer flow is coming to an end?

Unlikely to happen - they tend to move stores up, not down - if you put a clearer board on and leave it for a week they will find their way back into the super and ... if you want them to clear a super then the best way to do it is to put it above an eke with a small hole in it ... they then think that the stores in the super need to be brought down so, if you are using rhombus style clearers, the odds are that they WOULD clear the stores down !! They will also build loads of brace comb in the space under the clearer board so you will have an unholy mess to clear up ...

Dani is spot on .. leave the clearer board off until you are ready to extract - there is still some nectar around so you might find they fill a few more cells this week ...

 

[Hachi]

Unlikely to happen - they tend to move stores up, not down - if you put a clearer board on and leave it for a week they will find their way back into the super and ... if you want them to clear a super then the best way to do it is to put it above an eke with a small hole in it ... they then think that the stores in the super need to be brought down so, if you are using rhombus style clearers, the odds are that they WOULD clear the stores down !! They will also build loads of brace comb in the space under the clearer board so you will have an unholy mess to clear up ...

Dani is spot on .. leave the clearer board off until you are ready to extract - there is still some nectar around so you might find they fill a few more cells this week ...

I only use rhombus clearer boards and they have never emptied a super and moved it down Phil.

 

[JamezF]

I only use rhombus clearer boards and they have never emptied a super and moved it down Phil.

How long have you left them on for, out of interest?

James

 

[Hachi]

How long have you left them on for, out of interest?

James

Put them on mid afternoon and remove next morning. The odd [and I mean odd, memory says only one hive in years failed to clear at all, so I used bee-begone or whatever its called]. Never had a problem build your 1" frame with 5mm ply with opposing 10mm holes in two corners and cut the rhombus in half and staple in position. A Scottish beek that was on here put up pictures of them.

 

[JamezF]

Put them on mid afternoon and remove next morning.

Ah, right. That's what I do. I think the concern was with leaving them in place for a few days or even a week though. It would have been useful to know that I didn't need to panic if I'd put them on one evening and then couldn't make it to remove the supers the next morning for some reason. You know, like if I'd eaten a dodgy prawn from the bbq or something...

James

 

[pargyle]

I only use rhombus clearer boards and they have never emptied a super and moved it down Phil.

That's all I ever use and of course I've never had them move stores down under 'normal' circumstances but potentially the OP was talking about leaving them on for a week ... and in that situation (hypothetically as I've never left the clearers on for more than a day/overnight) it is possible that the bees could find their way back through the rhombus.

When you put a super on top of a board with a small hole in it above the brood box (as I have done) they move whatever is in the super down very quickly. It occurred to me, in leaving a rhombus clearer in place for a length of time - you are creating the same conditions - albeit via a slightly more torturous route. I could foresee this happening.

Either way, it's a very bad idea to leave a clearer on for longer than is necessary to clear a super.

 

[drex]

I use old crown boards, with Porter shaped holes, and a bit of slate, to go under any supers I want cleaned out before storage.
This year I could not find enough and had the idea that my rhombus clearers might fit the bill.. I put a strip of gaffer tape over the mesh to help them find the hole. Worked a treat.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

How long have you left them on for, out of interest?

James

due to my rounds, although I take some off after being on overnight, most of the clearer boards are on for 48 hours, this year some stayed on for four days - no bees returned. A few years ago due to rushing during the rain, I forgot to remove one lot of supers at Garn Cottage and didn't return to that apiary again for over a fortnight, fearing the worst I popped the crownboard and there was not one bee up there.
I do have some clearer boards with just the one 'complete' centrally situated rhombus. At one apiary this year which had the clearers left in place for three days, I removed all the supers then went back to take the clearer boards off - the ones with the split Rhombi still had no evidence of bees but the one with the central rhombus had bees pouring back up from below.

 

[Nik Edser]

Many thanks for the comments… looking forward to extracting my first crop of honey.!
great forum…

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thank you bees. I put two frames in as an experiment. I’m amazed. Aren’t they lovely?

 

[Tony Slater]

Checked a colony that had a test frame three days ago. Popped them on top of their next door neighbour with a squirt of air freshener

Squirt of air freshener instead of newspaper?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Squirt of air freshener instead of newspaper?

Yes

 

[JamezF]

I do have some clearer boards with just the one 'complete' centrally situated rhombus. At one apiary this year which had the clearers left in place for three days, I removed all the supers then went back to take the clearer boards off - the ones with the split Rhombi still had no evidence of bees but the one with the central rhombus had bees pouring back up from below.

I also have a mixture of both, so I shall try to remember to check what happens if I'm in that position in the future.

It does remind me of a question I was pondering on the other day (as I was putting the clearers on): If they do find their way back up, how do you then get them out again? Use a different type of clearer?

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thank you bees. I put two frames in as an experiment. I’m amazed. Aren’t they lovely?
View attachment 33551

No idea what to charge for it?