Dr. Jamie Ellis - What to do if Your Queen Lays in Honey Supers

Join the experts as they share quick tips on what to do when your queen lays in your honey super!

[@karalakies2033]

Thank you so much! My bf idn't use an excluder, even though I suggested it, now he's bummed he has brood in his honey. Lesson learned. Me, personally, I'd use an excluder but the bees are his gig, not mine. Your words calmed him down. I'll spin it and filter it!

[@dadu63]

I use excluders to manage my queens. That's the main reason. It's aggravating looking for her in 5 or 6 boxes.

[@pauldow1648]

Keeping track of queen is good idea. If it is possible, she might be in one of 4 boxes,that to me is - 3 extra chances she is subject to possible mishap while I am in the colony. The other thing is drones. Do you want drones in your supers too !? I don't. Having to deal with raw honey contaminates during processing just slows me down.

[@windyday8598]

or you can wait, and when the brood hatches out, near the end of the honey flow season, they will back fill it with honey. not a problem. the queen won't remain up there once there is a solid honey barrier in the lower boxes.

[@rockytoptech1308]

Can you do a video on the extraction and filtering process. I just found your channel and really enjoy your voice and your a fellow Texan haha I'm a Houstonian myself but now reside in Tennessee and moved from Nashville as an actor and now to Cornersville to concentrate on my business and have gotten very very interested in beekeeping and even attend local bee meetings once a month but never have time to ask all my questions. Sorry for the long reply....anyway pleeeease do a video on the extraction process. Subbed and Thanks! 🤠😇

[@pauldow1648]

For so called unfiltered natural honey what is the desired course filter to strain honey ?

[@jpthedelawarebeeman6239]

I had a few hives that the queen was laying in the honey supers so I moved the queens down and used excluders only to have the workers create swarm/supersedure cells. I was told there was too much room between where the queen was and the supers above the excluder and it caused the cells to be created.

[@rockytoptech1308]

Hmmm think maybe you had too many supers? If you added just one or two supers this would close the gap between queen and supers and add an excluder which would encourage bees to work the supers once they saw they were running out of space in the brood box/boxes. I'm still learning though so anyone can correct me if I'm completely wrong but that just would make sense to me. 😇

[@jpthedelawarebeeman6239]

@@rockytoptech1308 pretty sure I had 2 deeps and no more than 2 mediums

[@rockytoptech1308]

@@jpthedelawarebeeman6239 hmmm...well to me that definitely seems toss out the idea perhaps you had too many supers or basically too much space...that actually seems perfect, 2 deeps and 2 supers. I don't see how they'd be too much room, I mean I've heard of ppl having much more space in their hives and without any problems other than random spotty honey cells in the supers. Hmmm....well how's it coming along now?

[@jpthedelawarebeeman6239]

@@rockytoptech1308 they are doing well I have been hitting them with OAV to bring mite levels down. Today is last one till late September and they will get hit again for the winter

[@rockytoptech1308]

@@jpthedelawarebeeman6239 awesomeness! Good man! You sell your honey?

[@3Beehivesto300]

I use a bucket paint filer. It’s supposed to do 600 mic. Is there a recommended micron filter size?

[@thebeesupply]

600 is plenty...you could go much courser than that if you want to. All it needs to do is remove large, visible particles.

[@rockytoptech1308]

How is the filtration process even done....sorry I'm still learning. 🤷🏻‍♂️