> *If* the nectar was all passed as the books and peter suggests then why
> would the bees completely plug the brood nest forcing the queen to stop
> laying or at least find it hard to find cells to lay in. A common issue in
> strong hives especially early in a strong major honey flow.

Bees are often reluctant to go up into newly placed supers.  That is one 
reason I super early.  Migratories don't always have that luxury.

After the bees get used to the idea there is prime real estate above and 
have confidence that it will not flood or get too cold, they will go into 
*anything* placed there if the original bo(es) are removed and replaced, and 
they will then go through anything (excluders, a hole in a divider board, a 
crack, etc.).

> Thus through observation I observed in a *strong* honey flow the orderly 
> system *described in books* fell apart.

I personally think that the normal division of labour breaks down in a 
strong flow and that *all* bees fly.  I think that, because when hives are 
disassembled and the boxes scattered for abandonment, *all* the bees of all 
ages find their way home, pronto -- often in minutes.

I assume they all know the way, regardless of age. Maybe scent and other 
factors are involved, but, watching, the process appears straightforward as 
the bees individually lift off, circle a bit and fly directly to the mother 
hive.

When the flows are much less, bees don't abandon well, and the younger ones 
don't seem to be able to find home -- or even know about it as a separate 
location.

> I then opened entrances above the queen excluder. House bees moved up 
> (above the brood nest and excluder) to collect the nectar from the forager 
> bees and place in the super cells.

How big are your bottom entrances?  Also, how long were the suers on the 
hive?  It takes a week or weeks for the bees to gain confidence in them 
early in the season.  They adopt stickies and brood boxes placed up there 
better than dry white comb, though.

> I do not want nectar stored in the brood nest during a honey flow.

Agreed, although that is usually very transitory if there are adequate 
supers above.

> Hygienic bees = shotgun brood pattern and all stages of brood.

That can be the case, and why people seeking hygienic bees should not be 
overly fussy about empty cells without examing the reasons.  In fact, due to 
this fetish for solid brood, we have been breeding *against* hygiene for a 
century!  That said, good queens will fill empty cells quickly and too many 
emty cells can indicate something very wrong.

> I almost did not write the above because so contrary to what some say.

Why should that stop anyone?  Disagreements lead to learning as long, as 
they remain civil.

> Others will say "How dare Bob say a con about our beloved hygienic bees" . 
> I will treat and kill varroa before I watch half the brood pulled in late 
> stage and tossed 20 feet out the entrance.

I think you are making an extreme cases and exaggerating a bit.  For one 
thing, one has to ask, how did things get so bad?

Did some headstrong commercial beekeeper with susceptible bees move close by 
and not get around to doing his fourth toxic treatment for the year because 
he lives half a continent away -- or forgot? <G>

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