[D Coates]

They're robbing it. To aviod that I put extracted supers directly on hives and they clean it up without thinking they are robbing it becuase it's now part of their hive. The times I leave them out to get "cleaned" they invariably rob it such that they damage any newly drawn comb. If the comb is older (thicker) and may have had some brood in it at some point they don't seem able to damage it at all.

 

[D Coates]

I got lazy last year and put 12 extracted supers out to get "cleaned up" last July with 8 hives. The Supers were standing on their sides, so the combs would stay perpendicular and the tops and bottoms would be exposed. They tore it up and after reviewing the wax dust and exposed plastic foundation I said "never again". Since then (and before as well) I put them on the hives themselves. They will sometimes centralize the remaining honey in the middle frames but they won't tear it up. I also had them completely but unexpectedly refill the supers one year with early Fall soybean honey. I keep hoping it will happen again but to no avail.

 

[D Coates]

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