Queen got past excluder

[UTVolGatorHater]

Somehow my queen got by the excluder and got into the top supers and filled them full of brood. I just got in from checkin on them and my 2 top supers were full of brood and there were drones everywhere I mean it looked like about 1 out of ever 5 or 6 bees were drones. I took the excluder out, couldn't find the queen but found drone cells below the excluder but no other brood. Do I have laying workers or what? Cause the queen couldn't get back down below the 2 top supers. What would you do? Leave out the excluder and hope she goes back down and find her next time or what? and about the drones? This is my first year so I am not experenced at all and don't know anyone who is. Thanks Derek

[Ron Young]

Did you have fresh eggs in the top supers? Where were the eggs layed, side of the cell, bottom of the cell? What kind of capped brood did you have, drone, mix of drone and worker, worker?? I am a beginner too, and these are all questions that I have been asked this year. When was the last time you saw the queen? Was she a mated queen? I would think that a mated queen would not be able to fit through the excluder!

[Michael Bush]

Laying workers lay multiple eggs in each cell. You will almost never see a cell with one egg.

Queens can and do get through excluders occasionally. Virgins have just as hard a time as it's the thorax that is the controlling factor.

[Bee Draggle]

Sometimes when you put on an excluder the queen has already laid a few eggs in the super above the excluder. When this happens the bees often raise a new queen above the excluder. You can try finding this queen and put her below the excluder. However, since you now have brood and eggs above the excluder, you will have to check back on those supers above the excluder after a week and destroy any queen cells you see. After about 21 days all the brood will have emerged and your bees can use those supers for honey again.

[ScadsOBees]

Is the brood above the excluder worker or drone brood? If it is worker brood then you are ok.

If is drone brood (rounded cappings) then you have problems. Drone layers/laying workers will lay drones in any and every cell not just in drone comb.

Drones take longer to hatch out, so you might be seeing the last of the brood in the boxes below. If it is only a few patches then it probably isn't a laying worker because I think a laying worker can go through an excluder.

The most likely scenario is that the queen had started in the supers when you put the excluder on. She can occasionally get by if you know that isn't the case.

Rick

[RonS]

I chose to follow Michael Bush's advise and go excluder free. The bees were just using to store wax.

[UTVolGatorHater]

thanks for the help. There was only capped workers above the super and drone cells below the super and no queen cells that I saw. When I put the super on it was just plastic frames with wax foundation. It wasnt drawn out yet. I just took out the excluder until I find the queen and make sure I get her back down below the supers. Is that normal to have that many drones?

Derek