What Did I Do Wrong ????

[sarafina]

 A little background..... 

I have 2 hives in my backyard and I go foundationless in the supers so I can do crush and strain.  I want the wax for candles and don't care if I get less honey - I get enough honey for my family, friends and some left over to make a little mead out of  :-D

Normally, I pull about 6 frames at a time and just pull then brush off the bees and put it in an empty super that I have covered with a sheet.  This works fine for my small scale but I was thinking it wouldn't be so good when I eventually make it to our land in Arkansas and can have 10 or so hives.

So.....  I bought a fume board, some bee quick and a triangle escape board.  Yesterday I smoked the super real good to drive as many bees out of it and set it aside while I pulled a few frames in the brood box.  Small patch of capped brood - about right for this time of year.  I put the triangle escape board on top of the brood box, then the super, then the fume board.  I was going to pull it that afternoon but couldn't get back out there and then thunderstorms moved in.

This morning I pulled the fume board off and found a whole layer of dead bees on my escape board.  My heart fell - I have never lost a hive or killed so many bees at once.  I peeked down in the brood box and plenty there, so I put the hive back together.  I hope it will be ok.  We are many months away from winter so that isn't a problem - not much blooming is the problem now.  They have plenty of honey in the brood box.

I checked my second hive and just put the fume board on and will pull it and the super when we get back from lunch.

What did I do wrong yesterday?  How did I manage to kill so many bees with the escape board?  Did I use it wrong?  Thanks in advance for your help.

[VolunteerK9]

Im not just 100% positive, but  I think you are supposed to use either a fume board or the triangle bee escape, but not both together. Also the amount of time that the fume board was left on may have been excessive.

[Kathyp]

yup.  either one but not both.  with the escape board, you put it on and leave it overnight.  the bees are out of the super by AM.  the fume board is best used on a sunny day and it only take minutes to clear the super.  the first few i did took 15 to 20 min. because it was not such a sunny day.  the next only took about 5.


 

[sarafina]

Thanks - I guess I should have asked here first.  Lesson learned the hard way.......

[VolunteerK9]

Thanks - I guess I should have asked here first.  Lesson learned the hard way.......

Dont feel bad... Thats how I have received most of my formal bee education....just guarantees that you won't do it again

[danno]

your question has been answered but I would like to add one thing. When I was useing the triangle escape boards there were times when they would clog with bee's and not work.  Drones where usually involved.  Dont just pop the top expecting to find a emty super.  You might get a suprise