No honey for me...

[Mklangelo]

First of all, I haven't been on the boards much since I've done alot of traveling this summer.  I hope everyone's bees are doing well!


I checked my hives for the first time in 5 weeks today and they are bringing in pollen but we've just broken quite a dry spell here in SE Wisconsin that lasted all of July.  No rain to speak of which I think means the bees will stay close and not do allot of foraging.

All three hives have plenty of stores and at least one frame of brood in the top hive body.  I didn't go into the bottom one. The least developed colony has at least 7 or 8 frames fully drawn in the top box.  The other two have had excluders and supers on for about 8 weeks.  Not a lick of work has been done in either super.  I even put some honey up on the Foundation (plasticell) to draw them up. 



Since pollen is being brought in, is it to late for me to expect any activity in those supers?  Should I remove the excluders for a bit?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!


have a good one!

[Mklangelo]

Is the panel stumped?   :-D

27 looks and not a word?  Hmmm...

[Kathyp]

no, not stumped.  you have the same problem others have had.  i think the answers most given are to 1. remove excluder and 2.  switch to wax with your next purchase of equipment  :-)

if there is a flow and they are going to work the upper supers, let them get started without the excluder on.  i learned this last year and found that after a couple of weeks, the excluder could be put back on.  they were just reluctant to go through it at the start.  of course, if you put the excluder back on you'll have to make sure the queen is below it.

[Mklangelo]

Thanks Kathy,

Off come the excluders.

[budhanes]

I wouldn't blame all of it on the excluders or even the plastic foundation. I think the dry spell has most to do with it.

[DavePaulson]

My bees haven't done anything the past twoo or three weeks either. Hoping for a good mid to late August flow here but if we don't get rain soon it aint happening.

[Understudy]

As others have said remove the excluders. If it continues I would probably remove the empty super. Because the unused extra super becomes a burden to the hive.

You can always put it back on at a later date.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[n9kww]

The problem is not the foundation or the excluder, it is simple let the bees do what the bees do. If they have a need, more honey and no place to put it they will go up and fill the supers. Now we can trick them and have them fill up the supers, but no honey reserves for them and you will have a dead bang hive next year. I have always used excluders and plastic/cell foundations. Never had a problem and the bees do just fine. The weather along with package bees, what do you expect? The first year all I ever expect is for them to fill out the foundation and stores for them to over winter. That should be everyone’s goal, the bees first, then excess for me.
I know lots of bee keepers who did not follow the advice of bees first, they are no longer bee keepers, and almost all 99% have lost the colonies. Drought no nectar and you want honey?  I think the situation requires due thought before action.

Just my two cents worth and a little over 100 years of bee keeping at this end
Ron