Joined
·
523 Posts
Every year I struggle with this dilemma of wanting to get the wet supers cleaned by the bees, not wanting to do it as an open feeding (though I did that in previous years) ,and not wanting to spark a robbing frenzy. I think I'm going to try putting on a box on each hive in the beeyard so they're all equally preoccupied with cleaning the super, and also will do this as it's getting dark. What are some other strategies that work for folks?
Another curiosity: i really wonder how the bees respond if you add a wet super into the stack above the QE and not above the inner cover. They always seem to get very agitated, and maybe some of the apparent robbing is the bees in a frenzy to get into the box in their own hive. I wish I had an observation hive so I could see how they deal with this sudden excess of exposed honey.
Another curiosity: i really wonder how the bees respond if you add a wet super into the stack above the QE and not above the inner cover. They always seem to get very agitated, and maybe some of the apparent robbing is the bees in a frenzy to get into the box in their own hive. I wish I had an observation hive so I could see how they deal with this sudden excess of exposed honey.