I remember reading an article that mentioned that Queen Excluders=honey
excluders.  After yesterday's trip to the yard, I have to agree. 
I started seven new colonies from packages this year.  One of the new hives
(#3) needed a super ASAP, as they had packed the second body, and had
nowhere to go.  I threw a super (of foundation) on the hive as a stop-gap.
The next day I put supers on the other new hives, but with excluders.
I checked the hives yesterday, and all of the hives with the excluders had
little activity in the supers.  When I got to hive #3, they had the super
80% drawn, and filled.  I guess the lesson here is that foundation does not
need the added discouragement that the excluder creates.  I even sprayed
them with syrup to entice them up there.  My only concern with #3 is that
they might have moved syrup from the deep up into the super.
I would imagine that the excluder would be needed if I had drawn comb to put
above the brood nest, if there were still undrawn comb in the nest.  Is this
the case?
Hive #2 is from last year, and with no QE, and a super of foundation, put
some drone brood in the super (3x3 patch in adjoining frames.)  I don't know
why I put a super of foundation down there, and left the full one on the
top.  My error.  I guess I was trying to avoid travel stains on the
cappings...oops.


Jonathan B. Kriebel
Das Sauen Őhr Farm
3229 Zepp Rd.
Green Lane, PA 18054-2357
Telephone:  (610) 864-8581
Facsimile:    (215) 234-8573
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