Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: twb on June 03, 2008, 09:15:49 pm

Title: keeping Q.E. on when adding more honey supers?
Post by: twb on June 03, 2008, 09:15:49 pm

In an outyard I used queen excluders and placed 2 drawn comb honey supers on each hive.  I did not want to mess with queens in the supers there.  At home I do not mind.  So, when I add more honey supers they will be foundation only.  Should I remove the queen excluder so they draw them out better or can I simply set them above or below the current ones and leave the q.e. on since bees are already in the other supers?

Title: Re: keeping Q.E. on when adding more honey supers?
Post by: indypartridge on June 04, 2008, 07:50:10 am

If your plan is to add the supers with foundation on top of the filled honey supers, then you don't need the excluder - you've got a "honey barrier" that should prevent the queen from going up into the topmost supers.

Title: Re: keeping Q.E. on when adding more honey supers?
Post by: twb on June 04, 2008, 04:49:43 pm

Quote from: indypartridge on June 04, 2008, 07:50:10 am

If your plan is to add the supers with foundation on top of the filled honey supers, then you don't need the excluder - you've got a "honey barrier" that should prevent the queen from going up into the topmost supers.

And would the bees draw out the foundation fairly rapidly?  We will soon enter our main honey flow.  Is there a way they would draw it out even better?

Title: Re: keeping Q.E. on when adding more honey supers?
Post by: indypartridge on June 05, 2008, 07:26:37 am

Quote

And would the bees draw out the foundation fairly rapidly?  We will soon enter our main honey flow.  Is there a way they would draw it out even better?

During a flow, they should draw comb quickly. A upper entrance might be helpful (prop open the top a bit with a stick).