On 1 Nov 99, at 9:44, Lloyd Spear wrote:

> After a search of past messages, I have found opposing views on whether
> queen excluders are advisable in producing honey for extraction.  Some
> think they operate as honey excluders, and others insist that there is no
> better method of producing honey.  I could not find any references
> concerning how to get the bees to readily move through the excluder.

We used to have mixed feelings about queen excluders until this year
when we made effort to settle it one way or the other.
        In the past we've been dependant on a cap of honey over the brood
to keep the queen down and prevent brood in honey supers, but this
year that was ineffectual. In the past I was taught that the queen
won't go over honey to lay eggs, and that a split brood nest never
happens. We'll that statement is incorrect. If you use drone brood
foundation in the honey supers, you'll be suprised how quickly the
queen goes over honey to lay up that drawn foundation. Useful for
Varroa traps!
        On adding either foundation or drawn comb, we leave the excluders
off for two days for drawn, and slightly longer for foundation. This,
especially if you spray a little sugar syrup over the foundation,
tempts the bees to come up and start work drawing the cells out. Once
they're up, then add a queen excluder and they'll stay up. Needless
to say, if the bees don't need the space, then they'll tend to ignore
the upper supers even to plugging up the brood area with honey
stores.
        In previous years we've had a problem with our extracting filters
clogging quickly, we suspect with pollen. This year using excluders
we prevented this problem, it kept the amount of pollen in the upper
supers to a minimum. So I will in future return to our previous
position, and will not provide top entrances until the honey season
has finished.
        Considering all of our facts we've decided on the following:- Mid
size supers for less weight, early addition to each hive, fitted with
drone foundation, faster extracting, faster drawing, and the
possibility of Varroa traps if needed, plus a queen excluder to
ensure cleaner honey.




*****************************************
The Bee Works, 9 Progress Drive, Unit 2,
Orillia, Ontario, Canada.L3V 6H1.
Phone (705)326 7171 Fax (705)325 3461
David Eyre,
e-mail<[log in to unmask]>
http://www.beeworks.com
This months special:- Beekeeping Jacket
****************************************