Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Kris^ on September 08, 2005, 09:20:54 pm

Title: Why won't the bees leave the super?
Post by: Kris^ on September 08, 2005, 09:20:54 pm

After extracting honey from a couple supers on Monday, I placed the supers with wet comb on top each of their respective hives, like I've done every other time before (above the inner cover).  Went to pull what I thought would be empty dry supers off tonight, and found them instead full of bees putting more honey in.  There were still two supers with incompletely filled comb below each.  I thought they tended to rob the wet comb and take it into the hive.  Anyone know why they might do this?

I also noticed that my bee escapes no longer seem to work.  These are very full hives.

-- Kris

Title: Why won't the bees leave the super?
Post by: Jerrymac on September 09, 2005, 12:07:32 am

Just my thinking but.... I thought bees started at the top and worked down. If more room suddenly appears at the top they would move stuff from the bottom into the top.

Title: Why won't the bees leave the super?
Post by: thegolfpsycho on September 09, 2005, 07:46:33 am

Lots of factors influence this. If the temps haven't moderated yet, the broodnest is already full, and a Fall flow is happening, they are going to put it somewhere.  I read recently that somebody was having a similar problem, so they added another box between the brood nest and the wet supers.  As soon as that was done, the bees pulled the honey right down.  Maybe they weren't ready to consolidate and backfill the broodnest, or maybe they didn't see the hive as being broken up by the inner cover.

Title: Why won't the bees leave the super?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 09, 2005, 08:28:59 am

There is probably a flow.  Put the inner cover on top and be happy.  You may have to put up with the inconvenience of more honey.  :)

Title: Why won't the bees leave the super?
Post by: leominsterbeeman on September 09, 2005, 04:57:24 pm

Kris -

Don't know if you did this or not  but put the wet supers over the inner cover.

Outer Cover
Extracted Super
Extracted super
Inner Cover
Brood Chamber


They should lick them clean in a few days.  Better to finally remove them, once we get a cool day (less than 60 degrees.)

Title: Why won't the bees leave the super?
Post by: Kris^ on September 09, 2005, 07:17:36 pm

Quote from: Michael Bush

You may have to put up with the inconvenience of more honey.  :)

That's what I was afraid of!   :lol:

The goldenrod is just beginning here, but the temps at night have been down in the mid-50s.  I thought I might help them prep for winter a little by squeezing them down in stages.  But they obviously had different ideas.

-- Kris