Honey barrier shallow box as excluder ?

[bjosephd]

So apparently it's a general rule (I know there are actually NO rules) that a queen tends not to cross the honey barrier above her (probably assuming she has enough laying space below her).

I use a queen excluder now and then but as rarely as possible for various reasons.

However, has anyone used a very shallow super (or a super) filled and capped as honey barrier queen excluder?

I have a handful of shallow langstroth supers (about 12cm deep (or 5")) that my big feeder trays came in. I'm considering getting frames for them, getting them fully filled and capped and then removing queen excluders and using these full but very shallow honey boxes as a queen excluder.

Thoughts?

 

[GaryB]

My only experience of this, is that you can get drone brood along the bottom of the super frames. As my queen doesn't seem to travel across my super (they are on brood and half), when it is filled with honey, but she will lay drone brood just along the bottoms of the frames.

 

[bjosephd]

Sounds like a small 'compromise' for having far freer movement through the hive for workers.

 

[Poly Hive]

I am probably missing something but why not use an excluder if you want exclusion?

PH

 

[Rich0909]

If they get short of brood space they will uncap it and use or move it in order to expand the brood nest. Try it and let us know how it goes.

 

[bjosephd]

I am probably missing something but why not use an excluder if you want exclusion?



PH

Haha, it's a fair question... but probably a whole 'nother thread's worth.

Maybe you or I should start a new fresh thread on this (semi)controversial subject.

 

[Finman]

Haha, it's a fair question... but probably a whole 'nother thread's worth.

Maybe you or I should start a new fresh thread on this (semi)controversial subject.

Real wheel innovation.

Honey barrier does not work. The box is better to extract if you get that 15 kg honey.

 

[bjosephd]

Real wheel innovation

???

I was under the impression you didn't use an excluder Finman?

 

[Finman]

???

I was under the impression you didn't use an excluder Finman?

What then? I have used them enough.

My queens lay drone brood widely in supers. Capped honey frames do not hinder the Queen walk here and there.
.

 

[Little John]

So apparently it's a general rule (I know there are actually NO rules) that a queen tends not to cross the honey barrier above her (probably assuming she has enough laying space below her).

She also won't cross several inches of comb-free wood. So - when I needed to exclude the queen from a box last year, I used a plywood excluder. Easy, unrestricted access for the workers (and drones), but it kept the queen 'in her place'.

Dunno why more people don't use 'em ...
LJ

 

[Finman]

If they get short of brood space they will uncap it and use or move it in order to expand the brood nest. Try it and let us know how it goes.

So they do....

.
I lift full frames topmost and empty combs over the brood. So bees think that they are short of stores and continue foraging. In opposite case they swarm.

 

[Millet]

No Queen Excluder full stop for me after seeing dead bees stuck on two separate occasions, but then again i am not in it for the money at this present time so they can do what ever they want, however to date i have yet to see brood in a super with my choice, the only other thing i have seen other than honey is pollen.

 

[bjosephd]

She also won't cross several inches of comb-free wood. So - when I needed to exclude the queen from a box last year, I used a plywood excluder. Easy, unrestricted access for the workers (and drones), but it kept the queen 'in her place'.



Dunno why more people don't use 'em ...

LJ

Would be interested to see a picture of that.

 

[Tom Bick]

So apparently it's a general rule (I know there are actually NO rules) that a queen tends not to cross the honey barrier above her (probably assuming she has enough laying space below her).

I use a queen excluder now and then but as rarely as possible for various reasons.

However, has anyone used a very shallow super (or a super) filled and capped as honey barrier queen excluder?

I have a handful of shallow langstroth supers (about 12cm deep (or 5")) that my big feeder trays came in. I'm considering getting frames for them, getting them fully filled and capped and then removing queen excluders and using these full but very shallow honey boxes as a queen excluder.

Thoughts?

She may not cross a super full of honey but the bees will move it out of the way for her

 

[Little John]

Would be interested to see a picture of that.

http://heretics-guide.site90.com/beek15a.htm

Second photo from top.
LJ

 

[Finman]

So apparently it's a general rule (I know there are actually NO rules) that a queen tends not to cross the honey barrier above her (probably assuming she has enough laying space below her).


However, has anyone used a very shallow super

Thoughts?

The above rule is false. And no one use honey box as an excluder.
The Queen wanders around the the hive and inspect it all the time.

IT is worker bees who decide where the Queen lays. Bees try to keep brood area compact.
..