Now What?

[Bob D]

I'm a first year beekeeper with 1 hive. I installed my package in mid April (SE New Hampshire) and by late June, my 1st deep super was about 75% drawn out. I added my second deep at that time. By rarly july, the 1st deep was totally drawn out, but no-one was upstairs! So, I swiped 2 drawn fromes and brough them up the the second floor and placed the 2 empty frames downstairs. Buy mid-August, including the 2 full frames I brought up to the second deep, the 2nd floor (2nd deep) was only about 1/2 drawn dit little "startings" on the remainder of the frames.

To my surprise however, I checked them yesterday and in 1 1/2 weeks, they filled out the rest of the frames! So, I (just in time, I hope) added my first Honey Super.

Now, I've heard that the bees don't really like going into the new section, ESPECIALLY if they have to go through the Queen Excluder. I'm told that after they start working and drawing it out tho, the Queen Excluder won't bother them anymore.

So, what I've done is added my 1st Honey Super with NO QUEEN EXCLUDER. I figure I'll let them go up there and start drawing it out a little bit and them toss in the Excluder.

Is this a bad thing? Should I just go and put the Queen Excluder in now before they start going up there to work?

Also, because ALL of the frames in the 2nd deep were FILLED before I added my first Honey Super, will this cause them to slow down, swarm or (hopefully) move right up and get working on the new honey super faster?

Thanks in advance to all who answer!

[Bob D]

PS: I forgot to ask; Since I JUST added my 1st Honey Super the other day (August 22nd), I'm assuming this will mean I won't get a full honey super this year, let alone more than 1, correct?

[Robert Hawkins]

Only a NH beekeeper can answer your PostScript. Sorry. If it's verrrrrry important to you not to have brood in your honey supers, I'd put the excluder back on. MB says he ddoesn't use them at all. If he finds a frame (rarely) with brood in the super he just removes it and of course doesn't extract it.

Both of your plans are sound. It should work out either way. The difference is a religious issue. MacIntosh is better than windoze. Ford beats Chevy. And Extractors rule.

Best of Luck,

Hawk

[Robert Hawkins]

Excluders. But at 5AM I'm just happy to have fingers moving.

See ya,

Hawk

[chemistbert]

I don't use honey excluders either. I just don't extract the frame with brood in it or I cut out the few larva and go ahead and extract.

[Mitch]

Yep honey excluders are what they should be called
and if the queen lays in your honey super be glad you have a good strong hive and great queen that needs more room.I use them for cutting my comb honey they work great.

[Aspera]

I own 4 excluders and have used one of them twice. For whatever reason, I have not had problems with brood in the honey supers. I dunno, maybe its different when you have deep supers (mine are all mediums)

[Michael Bush]

>Is this a bad thing?

As mentioned, I don't use excluders. I'd just put the excluder in the garage and forget about it unless I have a good reason to use it for something.

>Should I just go and put the Queen Excluder in now before they start going up there to work?

I wouldn't. Some people would. It's your choice. I don't think the bees like them at all and I definitely don't like all the burr and mess, not to mention the hesitation of the bees to move up.

I use an escape to harvest. It's obvious if there is brood because if there is brood the bees don't leave through the escape. Then I try to find the offending frame and, if it's only a little bit of brood, I'd probably cut it out and then extract it. It's almost always some drone. If there's a lot of brood and especially if it's worker brood, I'd leave it in the hive to emerge.