At 07:58  7/31/96 +0600, you wrote:
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>Sender:       Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
>Poster:       Bill Painter <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject:      Re: Honey/Brood in supers -Reply
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>
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>Last night I moved the top super that was full of honey on the bottom, just
>above the second full sized box.  I then took the bottom supper and put it
>on top (most of it was eggs).  Then I got to thinking what if the queen is
>now up in this what is now the top super.  Will she cross honey to go back
>down into the hive?
>
 
Bill,
 
I was going to write and warn about locating the queen before doing anything
else, but I see it's too late.
 
Normally a queen will not cross "the honey barrier", such as a super of
honey.  However, I have seen exceptions to the rule.  I kept having trouble
with a queen who wanted to lay in the top super and not in the brood
chamber.  I did, basically, what you did.  I did the "super shuffle", but it
didn't work.  I had to force all the bees down, using BEE-GO and then put a
queen excluder on to keep her in the bottom.
 
Hope this answers your question.
 
 
Cheers,
 
 
Mike Wallace
Sar Shalom Apiary
McKinney, Texas   USA
"Out of the heart, the mouth speaks."