Removing supers

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melon

House Bee
Joined
May 1, 2010
Messages
132
Reaction score
1
Location
worcestershire
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
7
Does anyone have a preferred time for removing supers for extraction. I have put some clearer boards on tonight about 6 pm. One is a Canadian clearer board, one rhombus clearer board, and the other just porter bee escapes. I usually remove first thing for extraction that day. Are the bees more likely to have all gone out if I leave it until a little later.
I don't like to leave Canadian and rhombus on too long, as I think they work out how to get back in. I expect the porter bee escapes will take a bit longer.
The honey is not totally capped, but I will test with refractometer before extracting. The osr has virtually finished flowering here very suddenly. I have quite a few hives that have supers on, and will have to rotate the clearer boards about. Just wondered what time of day you find it best to remove suPers, and whether it makes any difference.
 
overnight. off early, extract as quick as possible. Depending on how big the colonies are I may put a few back on half way through the process to give them room. Certainly this coming weekends extraction will be like that.
 
I put the rhombus board on in the morning and remove supers tea time, Never used anything else. If you need to give bees more room place an empty super on top of BB, then your clearing board and full supers on top
 
Thank you for your replies. Canadian and rhombus had cleared beautifully by lunch time today. Porter bee escape board still full of bees.
Had our beginners around tonight for inspection and extraction. Took three supers, extracted about 45lb, and returned one very full super of the uncapped honey, which wasn't quite ripe, about 21 percent.
I put new supers on the hives when I put the clearer boards on to give space, but now I have returned the empties, they are getting a bit stacked up!
The best super was of a 2 May swarm, really heavy and they have almost finished another.
 
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