Drawing the bees up.

[LocustHoney]

My brood box and/or boxes are made up of 1 deep and 1 medium. I have placed a queen excluder on and put a medium on top. How is the best way to draw the bees into the new super. The deep is 10 frames complete and the medium is 8 of 10 complete.

[heaflaw]

They will naturally start storing excess honey above the excluder once the area below is mostly full of honey/pollen/brood.  Occasionally, they don't seem to want to, and start swarming procedures.  A drawn frame containing some honey in the honey super would encourage them to use that area.  If you are too concerned that they won't, you could move a frame containing only honey (no brood and definitely not the queen) from the medium below the excluder to the one above.  But I bet almost everyone here would say it's not worth the trouble. 

I'm near Lincolnton and have 10 hives.  I put my first honey super on one hive today.  The others won't be ready for one for probably two weeks depending on the weather.  So, your hive is doing very well.  Good luck.

[Brian D. Bray]

Bees will often swarm before they will cross a queen excluder unless the super has been baited with drawn comb and or frame of honey.  Best way is to get the bees working in the super and then, if you really, really have to, add the queen excluder.  I find I get more honey by letting the queen have as much brood room as she wants, the hives builds huge and brings in the honey by the truck load.  In the fall, pull the outer frames from each box intended for overwintering and move any brood frames above that point down.  Then feed, if necessary, to the bees back fill all the brood combs.  You want a back filled honey bound hive with a small brood area going into winter.

[Michael Bush]

>How is the best way to draw the bees into the new super.

Take the excluder off. :)

[Kathyp]

at least take it off until they start working the upper.  there also was an article on here about upper entrances helping.  you can probably search for it.  i didn't save it.

[jimmyo]

I agree with Micael, Take the excluder off.  I keep all mine in the shed.
JimmyO

[heaflaw]

The problem with not using an excluder is that you will get brood in the combs that you want to use for honey.  The queen seems to naturally move the brood nest up and you can end up with the bottom part of the hive not being used at all.  Once comb has been used for brood, it is best to not use it for honey because it will make the honey dark. I like to keep frames segregated between brood and extracting honey use.  With extracting combs only on during the honey flow, it also keeps travel stains down.  But I keep an  upper and lower entrance all year long.

[LocustHoney]

I have removed the excluder. But when they start working in the new medium I will put the excluder back on. I agree with you the thought of keeping the queen out the honey chambers. I had no problem with it last year. I just forgot that we didn't put the excluders on until the bees were working. My son reminded me that we did it that way last year.  :-D

[Michael Bush]

>The problem with not using an excluder is that you will get brood in the combs that you want to use for honey.

If you let them have drone brood in the brood nest, they seldom expand the brood nest any further up than they need to to keep them from swarming.  Would you rather they swarm?

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesulbn.htm

[qa33010]

     I tried excluders last year and had to bait them up as suggested by heflaw.  I used honey but later switched to a brood frame and had better results. 

     I may use the excluders later as part of a bottom board.  No sense in just tossing them out.  Unless I try it again after I clean them up again.  Doubtful! ;)