technique for removing supers

[annette]

Ok people

Now you will understand how inexperienced I truly am. I have never had to remove a super from the hive. Now with the population going down due to the swarm I had in March, I need to get some supers off of the hive so they can keep it warmer. My question is How do I remove these supers??

I know that when you extract honey you place the super back on the hive for them to fill up again.
I know that when you extract honey and want to store the super you place the super on top of an inner cover for the bees to clean up and then store the super (although how to remove the bees from this super also??)

Now how to remove a super covered with bees living on empty comb or partially filled comb. Do I use a bee escape? Do I place the super on top of an inner cover so they can remove any nectar or pollen in the comb, then use a bee escape to remove the bees from the super??

Have never had to do this, as my population was always increasing and I wintered them with 2 brood boxes and then added another super this spring due to overcrowding, They swarmed anyway due to overpopulation, but now need to remove the extra boxes.

Thanks for your help
Annette from Placerville California

[BeeLady]

I'm sure you'll get better replies, but I'll take a stab and someone can let us both know. 

When I have to take off a super with only (or mostly) undrawn foundation (no wax for the wax moths to get), I just take it off and lean it up against a side of the hive.  The bees will leave it at night to go back into the hive and you can take the super. 

If there is drawn comb but no honey, make sure you get the super ASAP after you take it off, like the next morning at the latest, and freeze the frames for a day or two to kill any wax moths.

Also, you can always brush the bees off with a bee brush or a brush made from long, fibrous plants to knock the bees off and take the super with you.

If there is honey you will have a bit of an argument with some of the bees but you can still brush them off near the hive, cover the super  (with a robbing cloth or old sheet or big towel) once the bees are off and take it with you.

If you want the bees to take the honey from the super before you move the super, I would uncap the capped honey and leave it near the hive.  Of course you could invite robbers depending on the state of the honey flow.  If there is any capped honey I would more than likely take it for me, myself and I.

[annette]

Well I finally did it today. I removed the super a few feet away from the hive and removed one frame at a time and brushed off the bees back into the hive. Then placed the frame into another empty super which I had in my car. I continued to do this until I had all 10 frames removed. One of the frames was honey and the bees flew everywhere when I removed them from this frame, but it was ok. Now I have a frame of honey to extract this weekend.

If there is a better method, I still would like to know.

Thanks for the help
Annette

[Kathyp]

i was faced with the same thing last year.  finskey told me just to shake the bees off.  believe it or not, it worked well.  i held each frame over the hive and gave a sharp shake or two downward.  most of the bees fell back into the hive.  i took out the frames with honey so that there would be no robbing.  left the rest of the box out until nite and took it in.  it was quick and easy.

[dlmarti]

i was faced with the same thing last year.  finskey told me just to shake the bees off.  believe it or not, it worked well.  i held each frame over the hive and gave a sharp shake or two downward.  most of the bees fell back into the hive.  i took out the frames with honey so that there would be no robbing.  left the rest of the box out until nite and took it in.  it was quick and easy.

Thats doesn't cause robbing?

[Kathyp]

i took the frames with honey into the house.  some of the frames didn't have any and i left them out with the last of the bees that insisted on staying in the removed super.  by dark, they'd moved back into the hive.

[tig]

i give the frames a few firm shakes which makes most of the bees fall off.  but i brush the remaining bees down to the brood box.  its mostly the adult bees that fall when you shake,  the younger bees cling on much tightly and those are the ones that usually have to be brushed down.

if i want any combs to be robbed, i place them some distance from the nearest box.   that usually starts a feeding frenzy and if placed too close to a box, there's a tendency for them to start robbing that box, specially here where we have apis cerana which is a very opportunistic bee!

[Michael Bush]

If you're taking the honey (in other words there IS honey) then during a flow you can set the supers on their ends a few feet from the hive just before dark and wait for them to leave.  During a dearth this does not work so well and I would not do it.  Then I would brush them off after putting them on a triagular bee escape overnight.

If the boxes are empty of stores, just pull them off and set them on end (so the bottom and top are pointing to the sides) and wait for them to leave.

[annette]

Thank you Michael, I was anticipating your reply also.

Annette

[JP]

Michael, have you ever used a fume board with a little fischer's beequick to remove the bees. I have a fume board but have never used it although I have used the beequick on a few removals in order to direct the bees where I needed them. I know that they don't like the stuff. I have had success brushing the bees off and leaving the supers overnight, in the morning there are few bees left. In fact I extracted and bottled over 4 gallons of honey last night. Got more to do today. Love that fresh honey!

[Michael Bush]

>Michael, have you ever used a fume board with a little fischer's beequick to remove the bees.

I have never used a fume board.  IF I were to use one, I would use the beequick, I would not even consider using the BeeGo or HoneyRobber.

[kgbenson]

have you ever used a fume board with a little fischer's beequick to remove the bees.

Yep - it works very well, particulalry on warm days.  If it is slow going pull the fume board back to create a small 1/4 inch gap at the front of the hive.  That seems to spead up the process.

Keith