Hello everyone!
Having just extracted by the strain method, can I set a frame near the hive and let the bees clean it up? Let them have a frame or two per day? I only have one hive and there are no feral bees around that I know of. There aren't even any trees for 1/2 mile. Thanks for any advice. Mike
I do it but it can attract yellow jackets too. Ive never had any problems to speak of.
Sure, the bees will like it!
I used to put them up on my deck so i could watch them clean it up! At times, there would be hundreds of bees out there!
your friend,
john
Yes, I do the same. Place used frames in a five gallon bucket set near the hive. Might use an entrance reducer on the hive "might" start a robbing war with other bees.
Thanks for the replies, everyone! They will be fed - premium honey!
Mike
I let them clean up 10 frames today. They were nuts with happiness all day. BUT, I would guess that about 200 bees died. They are all over the ground. Did they over-engorge themselves?
Here is an old method of letting the bees clean up the frames.
1 Place the frames in their super after you have extracted the honey.
2 use a circle saw to cut a hole in the center of a piece of plywood. You could use your inner cover that has the oblong hole for the bee escape.
3 At sundown: Super the bees with the wet combs over the plywood with the hole in the center.
4 The bees will enter the super and move most of it down into the frames below within a few hours or more depending on weather and colony strength.
5 The bees have all night to calm down and not be in the robbing frenzy that you do not want.
6 Check the super in a few days to see how the bees cleaned up the honey.
Results;
1. No or little robbing frenzy
2 The comb is not destroyed by robbers
3 Reduces the risk of unneccessary stings from robber bees.
4 Prevents progressive robbing
Good Luck,
Ernie
Sounds like a great plan. Thanks! M
One of the advantages to putting the dripping frames back in a super on the hive is that the bees can redraw the wax and refill the frames. That happens often when I harvest in mid summer and put the frames back on the hives. Letting them clean the frames up in a bucket or anywhere not in the hive doesn't allow the immediate reuse of the frames by the bees.
Linda T in Atlanta
PS. the 200 dead bees does sound like there was a struggle out there - you may only have one hive but there may be robbers in the area - someone else's hive or feral bees
I put some comb out the other day and they do gorge out and are unable to fly. I had several on the ground but they were gone the next day. Their little abdomens were huge. I would think this happens more commonly during a derth when they are beside themselves to finally find something. Many hung onto the bucket until the next day also.