Aaron and others are entirely right about how to use the escape boards described, and how well they work. But I have a word of caution. I produce a great deal of comb honey and formerly used the escape boards with an empty super underneath. I no longer do so as one day several years ago I returned to the yard about 24 hours after installing the escape board and the empty super and found the full super of cut comb frames an absolute mess from melting (but with no bees). Obviously, one of the function of the bees was to keep the temperature down through ventilation, and I interfered with that. That said, I never had a similar difficulty with Ross Round supers or with extracting supers. In those cases I think the additional support of the frames prevented the collapse. I no longer use escape boards. Lloyd Lloyd Spear, Owner of Ross Rounds, manufacturer of comb honey equipment for beekeepers and Sundance pollen traps. http://www.rossrounds.com [log in to unmask]