I'm a hobbyist, and started my 4th colony this year
from a nuc.  They built up in a hurry, and when I
added the first super I realized I didn't have a 4th
queen excluder, so I went without.

They quickly filled two medium supers, which I
extracted.  They then filled 1 1/2 more before the
flow ended, and I added a third to give them space

But when I inspected them last week, I found three
full supers, and virtually no honey in the brood
boxes.  The queen is still doing very well, mostly in
the upper chamber, but other than brood and pollen,
both boxes are very light.

I have two questions:
1) I've heard queen excluders referred to as "honey
excluders", but I thought the bees would still fill
the brood boxes first before moving up.  Is it
possible the bees moved honey upstairs after the honey
flow was over, and if so, why? (My other hives added
no honey during the time this 3rd super was filled.)
2) How do I rectify the situation?  Should I put one
of the full supers between the brood boxes for them to
subsist on till the fall honey flow? I'd hate for the
queen to move into my supers, but I don't want to have
to feed them sugar syrup either.

Eugene Makovec
Kirkwood, MO


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