queen exculders

[bee target]

With winter comeing fast should the queen exc be removed for winter???

[BEES4U]

I pulled my excluders and the bees are located in an avocado belt 14 miles from the Pacific Ocean. It is known for it's mild winters. However, we do get 19 degrees F every few years.
My thoughts are to pull the excluders for winter as the heat of the cluster is conducted out by the metal and it keeps the bees natural. We use to leave them on for the eucalyptus flow to draw out foundation in the brood chamber.
The winter cluster normaly moves up and the excluder prevent the queen from being included.
Some almond pollination contracts state No Exluders.
You can find a lot more information by doing a search located at the top of this page.
Regards,
Ernie Lucas Apiaries

[alpha6]

Yes, pull the excluders. If the cluster moves up then the queen is dead.

[Putz]

yep, remove the excluders.

[Ravenseye]

I pull the excluders when I pull my last super. I don't leave an empty super above an excluder going into the winter. In fact, I don't give them an empty super unless they are crowded right now (I have one hive like that....it's wall to wall bees). If they fill or partially fill a super now, I swap frames out so that they get to keep more honey in the colony or I hold the partially filled frames off the hive and feed it back should they need it in the winter.

[Troy]

I'm curious why an almond pollination contract would forbid a queen excluder.

I can't see a reason they why they would they care?

[Putz]

I'm curious why an almond pollination contract would forbid a queen excluder.

I can't see a reason they why they would they care?

A queen excluder limits brood area, and the more brood, the more pollen is collected to feed the brood. Brood rearing takes pollen for the lipids and protiens.

[odfrank]

I run some 11 1/4" deep frame single brood chambers, and some hives store surplus honey during the winter. I leave my excluders on those hives. As it is a slow flow, they really clog up the excluders with comb.

More recently, the bees dieoff down to a tiny cluster, or all together. :cry: