FBM Queen Excluders why you should not use them

[@jameshillemeyer8961]

I am a full time second generation beekeeper and have never heard or observed queen excluders shortening the life of bees. I use queen excluders on about 2,000 hives each year because a 'honey barrier' will not stop a queen from laying patches of brood in top supers. I use queen excluders on deep and modified hives but not on double deeps. I have had 2-3 full supers of honey on double deeps hives, thrown on another super and observed the queen lay in this top super. The queen will lay eggs wherever there are empty cells if she is so inclined. Queen excluders will cut down on honey production if you only have a small honey flow. But during big honey flows the bees will pack the brood chambers full of honey and then go up into the supers. Queen excluders are a great tool to keep brood out of your honey supers when you come back to pull honey.

[@sugardippedtitz]

Very good rebuttal, do you think the plastic queen excluders are better than the metal excluders? What does brood do to honey? What is the main concern about keeping eggs out from honey? If you eat it raw and fresh, is it ok to eat the brood other than killing the eggs?

[@beebob1279]

sugardippedtitz Basically, you don't want the proteins and the brood (guts and juices) in the honey. It's a pain to extract and then have to put supers back on so that you can extract again later. One and done. I prefer queen rearing, increasing hives, and then honey extraction. Honey extraction is a pain. It's messy and time consuming. Honey extraction is only good so that I can buy new equipment or expand the operation when I can. I"m not a commercial guy like JHizzle. He's right. I've never heard that the life of bees is decreased because of a queen excluder. But, if they aren't used correctly, can force swarms. Learn from someone who uses them successfully. Also, be careful of these 'natural' or 'organic' remedies. Most aren't approved methods. Also, this channel shows the use of acids to control mites. Since when are acids used in hives organic or natural? Could someone explain that to me?

[@beebob1279]

J Hizzle Do you have a video on how to use a queen excluder correctly? I think a lot of people could learn from you. I would like to see something myself. Always looking to learn different methods. If you don't do videos how about an explanation on how you use them on your colonies. It would be a great educational comment. Thanks.

[@patrickwalsh6873]

To answer your last question - oxalic acid is present naturally in honey.

[@DEDeyeDYCK]

I use all deep 10 frames, and wooden bound excluders above, i have 3/4" holes in every box i own and the excluder has only affected my cordovans, i run almost all carolinians and never have an issue with honey production or instances of queen rearing and splits

[@Zuconja]

My observation so far (8 years) is that queen lays eggs where ever it want's to. Pollen or honey are no obstacle for her.

[@xj9ox]

That's exactly what my Grandfather told me. He was once had the largest beekeeping business in Tasmania, so he knew what he was talking about too. Thanks for the video.

[@jzak5723]

Never heard of any study that backs up what you are saying about a queen excluder shortening the lives of worker bees that pass through them, but you are entitled to your opinion. I run my bees in a single deep brood box which is plenty of space for a good queen as long as she doesn't get honey bound. I generally produce between 150-300 lb. of honey per hive using excluders. The key is getting the excluder on the hive and a couple honey supers of empty comb at the same time in the early spring. My queens NEVER get honey bound in the least if you keep ahead of them with empty supers of honey comb.

[@elkriverhoneybees2366]

exactly Don. last week i had a super of mostly capped honey and 2 center frames had the bottom halfs with capped brood. i waited a week and went in today and the young bees hatched aqnd the foragers had backfilled the cells with honey. now there is no laying in the honey super. she will not cross that honey band UNLESS she has no place to lay. im thinking of pulling all the honey off soon and following your 3 step videos for gearing up for winter. u truly are the best beeman on KZbin Don.

[@HerbertSenft1993]

I cannot believe the many questionable and undocumented stats I see here. Wings wear out, life shortened by 50%. Who is taking census on these bees. Reducing honey flows, not IMO. I have had record honey production vs. other bee keepers both in CA and in WA. Do you really want brood up in honey supers. I sure do not. Do you consider having a hole in an upper supper, or using a Ventilated Inner Cover that includes a small upper entrance? Try it. Remove them before Winter and after extraction. For sure. Put them on, right side up. Sure. use queen excluders with a wooden frame to give more clearance. Yes. Rounded metal, vs. Plastic, YES. Finally, the only negative I might see might be with Carpathians which might gum up the excluder. Most other bees work fine with them. Does it increase swarming? not that I know. As for the size of a honey crop being reduced, that has so many variables to consider that isolating it to queen excluders is silly.

[@dienamychd7611]

Will have to agree. Dad has been working on his beekeeping for two decades one, one decate with excluders and one without and there wasnt really any difference. Also Carpathians clogging the excluders isnt really a problem if the beekeeper checks his hives a proper ammount of times. It was never a problem for us.

[@pgoessnitzer]

I agree with you! I have a lot of respect for Don and got some excellent pointers from his presentations. However, I have tried to forego queen excluders and it made a mess. Did not enjoy filtering brood out of the supers. I'll stick with the queen excluders.

[@FrederickDunn]

YOU are absolutely correct!! It's been known for quite some time, that many workers can't even get through the excluder and as you point out, it slows honey production dramatically. Plastic or metal, they hinder the bees... nice post, glad you are sharing!

[@Kwijiboi]

...and then a Legend appears Check out Frederick Dunn's videos. They are fantastic!

[@FrederickDunn]

@@Kwijiboi Thank you Will :)

[@Kwijiboi]

@@FrederickDunn No Sir. Thank YOU for all of your fantastic content. I have learned so much from your videos. I wish you all the best. 👍

[@FrederickDunn]

I think that's a pretty good idea, but honey is moved around inside the hive during the night time. Often, nectar from the field is stored in lower supers and the workers transfer it to the higher supers overnight... this would be impeded by the queen excluder... I'm a big fan of top entrances for other reasons though.

[@HerbertSenft1993]

I would also add that if you attribute wing deformations or shredded wings, you might also consider DWV, and viruses. Most bees will be infected with DWV at some point in their lives. Attributing that to queen excluders is nuts.

[@sharpie443]

You can use them to split hives as well. I've found that Bees don't like them and will not draw out comb above an excluder unless you give them another entrance.

[@kellyellingson2335]

Don you have some very good and useful information. This is so far from true. I can can use fact. Majority of Canadian commercial beekeepers use queen excluders.our season is much shorter than most states. Why is it that Canada has a higher per average hive if queen excluders don’t work. Unless your stating that your queens don’t lay as well to keep up with the dying of bees?

[@beebob1279]

I use queen excluders only for three purposes. One is cutcomb honey. I don't use the Ross Rounds like the fat beeman. I have to keep the queen out of the comb frames or the cutcomb honey is worthless. Only good for liquid honey. Two, In liquid honey production I let the queen lay where she wants. However, when the end of the honey flow is near I do push her down into the deep supers and then place a queen excluder over her. Three weeks later the brood has emerged and I can pull honey supers without worry of larva or capped brood. Third, if I catch a swarm I do use a queen excluder between the bottom board and the lower brood chamber. This keeps the queen home and I don't have the swarm fly off.

[@sugardippedtitz]

***** yes, is awesome!!

[@FloryJohann]

Better than watching 30 year old repeats on TV

[@tallcedars2310]

Like this idea although as a new beekeeper I need help in underestanding how to move the queen. Do you capture her or slowly force her to the next lower box till she is at the bottom, or is there another way? It's easy to see this is a preferred method for better honey production and since we live on the 56th latitude where it gets cold early, it would be wonderful to use this method for liquid honey I harvest. Thank you from northern BC

[@beebob1279]

@@tallcedars2310 If you want to find the queen and you can't locate her, put a queen excluder between the boxes. In four days go back and find the box with the eggs. That's the box with the queen. Then you can focus on that box. Or you can just shake all the bees to the bottom box and put a queen excluder between the boxes. You'll know the queen is in the bottom box (if you did it right). If I'm looking to move the queen to the bottom box I'll usually look for her and move her down by carefully picking her up and moving her. Then put the excluder on. There are a lot of ways to do it. My suggestion is to watch the professional beekeepers channels and not the back yard guys. A lot of back yard beekeepers are new and think they can show off only to give bad information. I no longer watch the FBM because he rarely answers comments, and many of his techniques are actually not permitted in the states

[@tallcedars2310]

@@beebob1279 Like the idea of using the queen excluder to find the queen and then moving her to the bottom box, that way I know she is there. At this point I'm too new a bkr to do any shaking and be confident she made it in there. But looking forward to experimenting without a QE this summer!

[@davehoward6573]

My father kept bees for over 70 years. Achieved his diploma at 13 years old. He always put a queen excluder between the 2 deep brood boxes and the honey supers. Bees will not push through a gap that is going to damage themselves.

[@fineshooter]

I have tried them and seen the damaged wings then tried to just add extra boxes and found they make more honey with out queen excluders they should call them honey excluders

[@davehoward6573]

Okay thanks I will give it a go.

[@TheWisendorf]

I love you FBM but to each his own I say. That said I have found managing my bees has become a lot easier since I started isolating the queen.Time spent or time saved I can do a much better job inspecting and doing the things I want to do with the hive.I do not know about this queen not crossing a honey line,but I do know if I don.t use the excluder she will be laying all over the place.I do all I can to make the bees happy and healthy.They will just have to begrudge me on this point.

[@mahocnc]

I love Queen excluders! Queen does go up into the honey super,..perhaps not so much for you in the south with little honey flow. It sure is nice to pull clean supers,..some years averaging 200 lb plus / hive.

[@64324037]

Queen cant wait to go up. This video is BS with all respect

[@benhawkins5172]

I have been keeping bees for a few years now and the fat bee man's knowledge has help me make educated decisions on various problems. you always have to read or listen to a few conflicting opinions to see what's best for you.

[@kevinwright1422]

I use them when hiving a swarm. Place the excluder between the box and the entrance to keep the queen in the hive. Remove them in about two weeks, once the bees are drawing plenty of comb and filling it with nectar and pollen. Keeps the swarm from absconding.

[@imhard2please503]

+Kevin Wright Great tip

[@leadfarmer73]

I do the exact same thing. To me that's all they are good for. And if I leave it on the entrance too long you can see how much pollen comes off their legs when they com back from foraging and try to get through the excluder. What a waist.

[@VidKatMA1]

@@leadfarmer73 but...if the exdluder is not added until the super goes on... and the pollen is for feeding the baby bees...is it not true that the pollen won't be going UP into the super? but I do Love the idea of using it to contain a captured queen. Interesting info.

[@zachnoll6245]

Ive heard it useless when using two brood boxes. cause there is so much room for them to place that honey band and the queen wont pass it. When it comes in handy is when you want to use the 1 brood box + 1 medium super configuration. You then use the queen exluder to prevent her from trying to move up and start laying where you the beekeeper have artifically designated the honey band. It helps save on equipment for feild with a large amount a hives but you have to be more on top of swarm managment cause you've got way less room but not necessarily less bees. *Just my own opinion of course

[@christiangab1227]

Thank you for sharing your honest opinion about queen excluders you are truly awesome and wonderful ^^

[@fineshooter]

1 thing the bees wings wear out premature and that shortens life by 50 % Don

[@Richard-kb9rl]

The brood is a sphere shape that is surrounded with stores, the honey. The brood may expand in size but it stays together as a sphere. Thus you should find honey on the outer frames and above the brood, and maybe a little below it toward the entrance. The queen stays in the brood area, and shouldn't therefore cross the honey store even if an empty box is placed above it.

[@robertshorthill6836]

In 18 years of keeping bees, the only times I ever used a QE was when I wanted to keep queens in a double queen colony separated, for obvious reasons. I used a double deep brood chamber with 10 combs each, for one queen, followed by a QE, followed by a second double deep like the first lower chamber with a second queen. It was important to keep the front edge of the QE placed back about 3/4" from the lower boxes so drones could get around without clogging up the bee spaces. Anything to restrict worker bees during a spectacular nectar flow would be a big mistake. Also, place 3/8" sticks on each corner of all the boxes for better ventilation. You will have a tall colony that makes more honey than two hives side by side. Otherwise don't use a QE. They are unnecessary. Bob

[@cdgarrett1]

Tell us the way it is! I am new to beekeeping and you are one of my favorite advisors. Like R. Lee Ermey aka "Gunny" you just tell it like it is.

[@MarkThomas123]

Don: Does the Excluder work on the Small Frame Bee Queens? Since the Bees are Smaller, will the Excluder stop the small Frame Queen? I want to try the Cloake Method of Raising Queens. Just for two runs, not long term, and the rest of the Bees will have a Second Entrance above the Excluder for those 2 weeks of that process. Just Curious to know if the Excluder will work on the small frame queens..

[@PattySmith339]

Honey bee workers only live for 1 month before new bees take it place

[@ellea3344]

Ya, I think these experienced bee keepers are being very disingenuous by throwing out pseudo science, and stats on life expectancy of bees in relation to queen exluders, when the workers only live a few weeks anyway. lol

[@myingroupidoldidnothingwro4650]

@KnightsInfinity *"Honey bee workers only live for 1 month"* [citation needed]

[@drawingwithlight2397]

@myingroupidoldidnothingwrong bee-health.extension.org/how-long-do-worker-honey-bees-live/

[@janslos]

Dadant wrote in his book 100 years ago that he also didn't use them, it creates an obstacle for the bees, my granddad my father and me didn't, don't and won't use them. If your broodchamber is big enough the queen won't go in the honeychambers to lay eggs.

[@chelsidee6565]

So does the eggs get mixed up with the honey without the excluder? I'm new to this.

[@fineshooter]

just add a extra box

[@chelsidee6565]

Oh okay. Thanks much.

[@royalwulff1]

The way it is, Don't think for one second a queen wont cross a band of honey, been keeping bees 8 years and saw it first hand, she will cross it, not all the time but she can and will!!

[@moonshade0227]

My experience is that the queen always makes pass through the honey barrier because worker bees are so lazy they dump honey on brood when there's a flow and force the queen to go up. Maybe it is because I use frames that used as brood in supers. The queen kind of smelled the brood and went for it.

[@stormbringer67]

So how do you keep the queen out of the honey super then? And also: what if she DOES get up there and lays eggs? Do you cut the comb with the eggs out and STILL harvest the honey around that? Please explain. Thank you.

[@passaflora09]

I live in an area where we have frequent bee swarms..I am thinking of using one to keep bees out of my Chimney... If the queen from a swarm can't go in then they will leave...

[@davidhouser4422]

What would happen if the queen gets trapped on the wrong side of the excluder? Would that prevent a swarm? What about using an excluder to have a 2 queen hive so the queens can't fight themselves? Yes I know it would be very unstable like a car using nitro all the time they would be prone to swarm with or without bringing a queen along.

[@sethstudebaker6807]

As soon as I finish this video a little side menu pops up on the right side and shows me different queen excluders and their prices and wants to know which one i want.

[@speedfreak7371]

Thank you for clearing up that. I am new to the bee keeping world. I have one on my hive and will be taking it off.

[@Cinqmil]

well, I thought about that too. Probably going to experiment with it. Don't know if it is a good idea or not. I'm a beginning beekeeper.

[@liamels6282]

At first i thought this would be a load of poppycock but this actually convinced me into to buying one thank you for the advise.

[@caveman175]

I'm not a professional on this subject. But would it hurt to use the queen excluder just for the time being until honey starts to transfer over into the supers. According to these comments, once that happens, you're set to take it out and save your bees from short life.

[@MissionaryForMexico]

I have had 42 bee hives and use excluders on all of my hives, I have never had an issue with worker bees going thru the excluder! You can easily see the worker bees go thru the excluder with no problem what so ever! Why you would state this, makes no sense what so ever. Furthermore it keeps the queen where she belongs laying egg in the brood chambers! That was nonsense sir!

[@AlbertChubak]

Agreed. Great for splitting hives and searching for trilobites in sand in Utah. LOL

[@stsnfordgraham5205]

Excluders when I choose to use them. I allow a small entrance on the super at no specific point. When I have a good nectar flow I have no need for them

[@Cinqmil]

So I appreciate any thoughts on this from someone with more experience. Is it a good idea, or does it cause harm in some way?

[@Noahsoak]

so you really dont need an excluder? how do you keep the queen from laying eggs in the honeycomb? I am in the process of building a top bar hive from a 55 gallon barrell - I dont understand how you keep the queen from laying eggs in the honey comb section?

[@guardiandogoargentinos1385]

I heard there's a very specofic hole size to drill that traps the queen and drones(which will make the queen lay more worker bee eggs insted of drones so I've heard)and lets the worker bees through. But i do not know the specific size-i can't remember.

[@richardkivler1219]

really nice video..in plain English..great help..THAN YOU!!!!

[@mikehollandnc]

If you leave a full super of honey on top of the brood/hive body the queen will not climb through the honey super to get to the upper trays.

[@gigicaly]

what about the plastic nets with rounded edges? they say that they are specially designed not to harm the bees.

[@fineshooter]

remember it shortens the life of the bees by 50%squeezing thru the queen excluders

[@Meatwaggon]

+Don The Fat Bee Man Where did you get this number "50%"? From some study? Can you link it?

[@pauldow1648]

@@Meatwaggon Don is of the experienced opinion....... He don't have no phd or research study......

[@tparker8054]

Queens "generally" do not cross honey barrier. But I have had them go straight to the top on a 5 deep box high setup and cross two of them. Think she liked the new wax idk. I'm not a fan of the excluder either but I use them some.

[@tibadoe]

Thanks for the info. Confirmed what I was thinking. Each year I try queen excluders and none of the bees from my hives will go through them. Taking them off for good!

[@timbraasch1514]

I have some questions: 1: What happens if there aren´t enouth blossoms/plants/trees to support a growing hive? will the hive die after they cant keep up the production or will the hive just grow to the amount needet to harvest all there is and then stagnate? 2: What would happen if you would enlarge some cells, could they be too lage for the queen to lay the brood in there but small enough so that the workery deposit honey into them?

[@fineshooter]

you have to feed when there is no honey flow

[@timbraasch1514]

@@fineshooteryeah but if i dont expect the amounts of pollen to grow? does the hive gets larger and larger and i have to feed more and more until winter hits and the swarm gets smaller?

[@christopherdavis9012]

Don, have you used to queen in one hive?

[@howardtoob]

Top entrances.

[@godzuki101]

... So much info about what to do and what not to do and all of it is conflicting... I just want a beehive to make sure the bees are close by to pollinate all my fruit trees...

[@fineshooter]

I show what works and what wont

[@marcbee7467]

I have many hives with queens laying in the honey super,and most of these hives still have space in the lower deep boxes.I did not want to use excluders but I have purchased some because I have queens laying in the honey supers,what can you do if you add a honey super ans she starts laying in it before they fill it with honey?

[@CoachSeanPeterson]

Is it better to run 2 or more hive bodies or 1 hive body and then supers? Guess I dont understand what would be better. thank you

[@maninderkang4403]

plz, give your views on horizontal queen excluder

[@banq0o]

rotation .. frame replacement .. many options .. and in the end WHY shouldn't queen lay eggs near honey .. what's SO WRONG with that?

[@CoachSeanPeterson]

Hi FBM, I live in Montana I'm a new bee. My question is should I have a brood body and then another brood body for my hive or a brood body and then supers? My goal is to make honey. Thank you Sean

[@DrViktorFursov]

Thanks for nice Video! :)

[@Richard-kb9rl]

There is a ant poison product that's effectively an enclosed container that will allow ants in only, protecting pets and yes it will work for bees. The poison is inside the container which the ants take back to their nest.

[@fineshooter]

it would be hard to use a queen excluder on TBH's Don

[@rurutoamaoate]

Do i use 2 supper or three supper without using queen excluder or i dont use excluders at all.

[@01sigh]

why don't you have more than one entrance? I'm not a bee keeper.

[@landolascano9200]

I really don't want to steal honey from the bees. Just a little bit is all I need to sweeten my coffee. Thanks.

[@chutdiggadigga]

+Lando Lascano What's the logical difference between taking all or little honey?

[@landolascano9200]

+chutdiggadigga I don't want to punish the bees just for the sake of greed. I do gardening and I spend more than if I buy produce. It's the enjoyment in doing things.

[@mrmolasses5366]

+Lando Lascano when the honey flow starts just put on small honey super on

[@santiagobaniaga2017]

what number of# grid measurement desired Queen Excluders for smaller asian Bees(apis Cerana)... i think all featured on youtube videos are for Apis mellifera..?

[@fineshooter]

just buy a standard queen excluder

[@Noahsoak]

Mike, I have built a top bar hive from a barrel

[@Blah_Dedah]

well how about if you have grafts in a hive with a queen is it not a good idea to exclude the queen from your cells. i think you may be right that it does decrease the life of the bees however you sould not have them on all the time anyway like fatbeeman said just put honey supers up there. but normaly when you put an excluder on brood rearing is at its best because the honey flow is at its best and the more bees the more brood and the more brood the more bees and so on.

[@ArtGardens]

I don't use them either, I want to give them the freedom in their home, I have a happy healthy queen, bees and enough honey to sweeten our life.

[@kamagawa]

Okay new guy here, looking to start into keeping - I wondered about this so now I'm probably not gonna use an excluder now if it can be helped. but what do you mean by honey band? Are you meaning a row of honey cells that carries across a frame? because I would think that adding a new super would just encourage brood growth into the super vertically from the lower frames. and as i understood it the real intent of using an excluder is so you can have a super free of brood cells.

[@marcman5109]

I always just use them when I make splits just move some brood up above the excluder then all you get is nurse bees up taking care of brood and after a day just pull the box off with all the nurse bees and brood and you have a split thats the only thing I have found them good for. I do know they dont like them.

[@Cinqmil]

I was thinking the very same thing. I do use the excluder but I change the entrance from below it to above it. In short: honey chamber is on top, then the entrance, then the excluder, then the brood chamber. So the foraging bees can enter above it, and don't lose time to always struggle through. What do you think about this? I'm a beginning beekeeper.

[@TenshiB]

I've heard of using a burlap sack and cutting it to size to use as a queen excluder. The worker bees will chew through, but the holes they chew aren't big enough for the queen. Have you heard this, Don?

[@fineshooter]

what I teach is just common sense. Don

[@JaiKisanHP]

Nice video

[@jossenbella]

I have seen great improvement with the bees drawing comb in my honey supers after taking the queen excluders off. I am using foundation-less frames to produce comb honey. I have placed these between every other foundation frame. I am concerned about the queen venturing up and laying and thereafter causing staining of the comb. I have not noticed any queen activity in the first super I have added so far without the excluder. But, considering re-applying the excluders to prevent this. ?

[@darthnater71]

the way I would use it, is the Rose hive, and use the excluder, on top of 4 chambers, and have 3 hives on top for honey, than when it hits set or late aug, take out the excluder and let the bee's do there thing while I have honey :3 so they can gather whats left and survive the winter, I'm no bee keeper but I been thinking of doing it, tell me experts what do you think of that plan?

[@ecofriendlyshelters]

+Nate Ixchel Interesting thoughts, Nate. This year on our small apiary from three families of Italians and one of Carnies - we did this experiment. We placed the excluders above the two deeps with the family. Honey supers, obviously, were filled with worker bees who brought quite a bit of honey this year on blackberries. We were barely keeping-up adding supers - they worked that fast. Once September approached and we harvested the honey, the excluders were removed. One honey super box was added with empty frames. They (girls) had a chance to still work the area to collect at four-five full frames on each family. We pulled side (empty) frames out and laid stockings (ladies model) filled with wood shavings (moisture absorption). Set nicely and tight on sides until next spring. Should winter through well (with upper deep box containing honey on side frames and 4-5 frames in super above (about 40-50 lbs) - should be enough to winter through for a good-sized family. But queen excluders will go back on comes Spring. The amount of worker bees in supers with no queen access was amazing. And observing them - they did not seem to have any issue passing through. The surface of the metal rods is smooth and in no way did it tear their wings. Although we are shifting our approach to horizontal hives, we will continue using these excluders - it provides an opportunity not to "go" into the hive too often and harvest honey with no concerns. They (girls) know best what works for them. Ours din't seem to mind the excluders. Italians and Carniolans...

[@fineshooter]

you can run as many hive bodies as you like. in my younger days I ran 5 deeps. Don

[@kennapop3]

How about propolis traps.

[@kaseycates2743]

Thank you sir.

[@b8hovenusa]

Too many opinions. I am not in the amount of honey just having it easy to select my super with no brood in it.

[@pauldow1648]

Today I saw a bee trapped in a excluder like Don showed. It could not go forward or back. Stuck halfway. Maybe it was a drone. I do know wings of bees are very delicate and probably coated with a surface layer of natural importance to the bees existence. So I am inclined to agree that screens very well are not the best for bees. Additionally it is said bees need minimally about a 3 bee breadth wide opening to come and go, so it does seem those wire barriers are not wholesome.

[@royalwulff1]

They will walk across honey, best believe that. Each hive is different, so many things can come into play when it comes to making honey, people just blame it on the excluder. No one can prove excluders slow down honey productions.

[@arnoldgrief5498]

thanks for the info

[@banq0o]

what a man! .. respect again :)

[@juliegrimme]

Thanks!

[@martytrujillo5082]

Yup you are right!!!!

[@richardclausen2904]

Afternoon Don Please could you tell me how the queen lays brood without the queen excluder? I have taken the excluder out and I now have 1 super on top of the brood box. Will the queen only lay brood in the lower box? I have been told the upper supers will be free of brood and only contain honey. Is this true? Please would you show me a picture of what your frames look like in one of your supers that is ready to extract the honey. In Hong Kong the locals only use 1 brood box and nothing on top. Unless they cut out the honey areas, how do they get the honey out without disturbing the brood? You can't use a centrifuge . The bee I'm referring to is the Asian bee Apis Cerana. Thank you Sir Richard Hong Kong

[@xanderhaynes3340]

+Richard Clausen This really just depends. If your bees are very productive and start to run out of room, then the queen will start to lay eggs in the honey super (which really isn't that big of a deal). When you start to notice that your bees are running out of room, just add another super. I typically use two brood supers, and two to three honey supers. It's also the queen's instinct to move upwards, so it doesn't hurt to switch out the top brood super with the bottom brood super every now and then. Having two brood supers in the spring and summer also makes it easier to split a hive in fall. Hope this helped!

[@SouthBayFamily]

k

[@SouthBayFamily]

Richard Clausen k

[@alblakesley511]

I have never used queen excluders on my Russian hives of bee's a queen will not cross a honey supper

[@fineshooter]

you have bee to make honey right? so give them more room once you have a honey band the queen wont cross it. Don

[@grantjones6748]

Thanks I was going to get one

[@FloryJohann]

As many miles as the bees are flying, it would not surprise me if the bees just wear their wings out. Maybe age has some to do with it.

[@TheBelrick]

Dude, forager bees are not the bees found inside the hive. They pass the honey to the young bees. They die after 6 weeks because they are born with the energy used by flight muscles and cannot add to it

[@fineshooter]

I stop using them 40 yrs ago they shorten the bees life. Don

[@chipaltman2709]

I agree there is a place an time for the excluders im a small 3rd generation commercial beekeeper if used properly at the right time u can actually increase your net extract honey poundages per hive but during my comb honey production I use a 6⅝ brood super above my brood nest an then will super with comb honey boxes as needed.... But for extract I will compare with any one net poundage an prove that the excluders is hands down the best...FYI when I have a problem with honey production thru an excluders I replace that queen

[@tehaysli]

Hello, I have a question for you. I just inherited two established healthy bee hives that have been let go. No mite or beetle. The bees however are making comb anywhere and everywhere. Im finding bee larva at the top of the hive along with around a dozen plus drone cells. Im cleaning the comb off the frames that they have made joining other frames, cleaning off comb from ontop of frames. Worker bee larva everywhere. I have two supers and three mediums. Why is this queen all over the place? Thank you Terry. p.s. it took me 2 hours to cleen up 2.5 mediums. I still need to get into the deeps. Unknown if queen are being made. Thank you

[@fineshooter]

be sure to check for queen cells

[@myingroupidoldidnothingwro4650]

The queen likes to stay on comb. In a clean hive she'll stay on a comb until she's run out of cells to lay eggs in. If your hive is full of burr comb, the queen finds no boundaries (frames/space), and will walk all over the hive. Just keep removing the burr, and consider splitting large colonies.

[@1969626]

thank you

[@fineshooter]

once queen lays in hive body if you have a super on top and there is honey in it she don't cross over it. Don

[@illyriadardania6720]

Likeee

[@smrki1]

Sounds reasonable, but here is my problem. If you have like me only how to say low nectar yielding forage for the bees, your bees will invest every drop of honey they get into brood rearing and you can end with as much as three deeps full of brood like I got once. Too much brood in such circumstances equals no honey.

[@SuperDEEZBEEZ]

Agreed

[@huseinkerkuk]

I take away queen excluder because my bees did not through net last 2 years and they did not make honey> but my nighbour still using cxcluder and its ok Iraq - kirkuk city

[@davidrobinson9768]

Don is right