BBKA Forum

On a inspection a week after putting my Honey Supers back on.
I found brood up in the super’s.
When I got down to the brood box taking the Queen excluder of then working though the frames.
I found the Queen.
My hives are Payne’s with plastic excluder’s.
Do you think the Queen could get though the excluder?

Sometimes they are small enough to, or there is a unnoticed hole, or a gap if not put back accurately. Not a criticism we have all done it....
More often is un-policed worker eggs and all is drone brood.

Thanks nigel
This is worker brood.
Do you think when it’s hatched and if she doesn’t get back up there.
They will carry on filling the super with Honey?

Yes....
Leave them to it.

are any of the holes broken in the QE making a larger hole. Just a thought.

Hi Chris
Thanks for your post.
It’s a new QE but I will have a good look over it.
Do you think the metal excluders are better ?
Only when I make a regular hive inspection the plastic QE’s is often pushed up with Burr Combe which I always clean up when putting things back.
I am always very careful that it’s in position.

If plastic or metal are made properly then the gap for the bees to go through should be correct but the tolerances are small and queens vary too, whether in lay, newly mated or being slimmed down before swarming. There are sometimes defects or distortions (such as by the burr comb you mention). Whether metal slotted or wired is “better” is arguable. I do use wired framed excluders myself but also flat metal slotted when I run out.

Beckley.Bees wrote: ↑

24 Jun 2019, 08:26

Hi Chris
Thanks for your post.
It’s a new QE but I will have a good look over it.
Do you think the metal excluders are better ?
Only when I make a regular hive inspection the plastic QE’s is often pushed up with Burr Combe which I always clean up when putting things back.
I am always very careful that it’s in position.

I use plastic QE myself. My critisism is they tend not to have bee space where as wired ones do. Having said that thornes do one called XP plus from memory which does have bee space. I don't remove burr comb as they only replace it. Which is best? Personal choice imo.

Hi all
Just had a look in number one hive the one with the worker brood.
I see that some has hatched and no new eggs so I think things should be back to normal.
Thanks for your comments

I have 2 colonies that have done that this month. We have had rain 26 days out of the last 30 and its been below 12C for quite a bit of it. Looking at the brood ages it looks as though the queens had gone of lay for a week. I think they became slimmer in mine and passed through the QE up to the warmer section but then moved down again as the brood pattern extended down.

If she is a young queen I find they often do this but mine are mostly black queens which are small to begin with.

Cheers, Mick.