Poorly chicken

[StephenW]

Hello

 

Could somebody please tell me what a queen board is?

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Stephen

[Olly]

Do you mean crown board? It's a flat board that goes over the top of the brood body, underneath the roof,or underneath any supers you might have on top. It usually has a couple of large oval holes in, to allow bees up into any supers, and you can fit a 'bee escape' in these, or put a feeder on top of them when necessary.

 

Or do you mean a queen excluder? That is a special mesh that sits on top of the brood body, it has holes in which are too small for the queen to go through, but big enough for worker bees to go through. It stops the queen from laying eggs in the supers, where you want only honey.

 

I think you must mean one or other of these?

[StephenW]

I actually do mean queen board. I read it in a booklet and didnt have a clue cause I knew what a crown board was and a queen excluder but this was knew. Not o worry.

 

 

Thanks olly

[Old Speckled Hen]

I have heard of a "Queen Board" being used for artificial swarming and queen rearing.

Cushman documents a Horsley Two Queen Board so you could look at that

http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/horsleyalt.html

If you are not familiar with Dave Cushman's site it is a revelation

I have seen mention of a Morris Queen Board somewhere as well.

[Guest]

Stephen,

 

Don't be mislead by: or underneath any supers you might have on top

 

Don't get the miss-apprehension that this is correct. It is not. The crown board is always at the top of the hive box stack. It will cover the brood, if brood only, but it will be placed above any supers fitted for honey storage.

 

Any feed holes in the crown board are normally covered - either with a wire gauze (which the bees will almost certainly propolise almost completly, or completely) or by a piece of ply (or similar). It was called a 'crown' board for that very reason - the crown is always the upper-most part of the item, of even a king or queen.

 

The modern commercial ones can often be used as clearer boards when fitted between brood and super, or between supers. At this time they are fitted with bee escapes (usually 'porter' escapes) so that bees in a full super can exit but not return, thereby allowing the beek to remove the super, later, when virtually free of bees.

 

There are circular feed holes on some but more usually two 'porter bee escape sized holes' are incorporated - one placed centrally (so it is normally the one used as a feed hole) and one off-centre.

 

Regards, RAB

[Old Speckled Hen]

Can you not sometimes put a crownboard between a super and a brood to encourage the bees to move stores from the super?

Also, I left my crown board holes open this summer. Was I wrong to?

Sorry to hijack the thread.

[Old Speckled Hen]

Stephen,

 

 

The modern commercial ones can often be used as clearer boards when fitted between brood and super, or between supers.

Regards, RAB

Can you not sometimes put a crownboard between a super and a brood to encourage the bees to move stores from the super?

 

Ah........... I guess that's what you mean......... should pay more attention to reading properly

[Olly]

Sorry, my fault for confusing the issue, I really shouldn't post late at night! You are quite right RAB, the crown board does go on the top, but I was also thinking of its use as a clearer board. When I suppose it is no longer a crown board!

 

I still don't know what a queen board is, will have to go and look at that site, thanks for the recommendation OSH.

 

And I always leave the holes in the crown board open; I don't use bee escapes anyway - 'bang and brush' is easier, I think.

[StephenW]

Dont worry I was completely baffled because I have been looking up so many website and watched a ton of videos to learn as much as I can and never came across queen board.

 

 

Stephen

[Old Speckled Hen]

And I always leave the holes in the crown board open; I don't use bee escapes anyway - 'bang and brush' is easier, I think.

I used Porters to clear the top half of a double brood box (so that I could move some frames to two weaker hives) coz when I tried bang and brush I had more bees on my veil than in the box Scary for a new beek

They worked really well.

I've seen videos of beeks in the USA using leaf blowers to clear supers

 

Dont worry I was completely baffled because I have been looking up so many website and watched a ton of videos to learn as much as I can and never came across queen board.

Stephen

I love beekeeping even though it's frustrating,incomprehensible and scary at times but soooooooo rewarding when you and the bees are in harmony and all goes well.

Ask Olly about her first jar of honey

That's something I have to look forward to. Meanwhile all that winter reading............wonderfull

AND i've already bough three different colours of paint for that Polyhive

eeny meeny miny mo

[Guest]

Clearer boards using porter escapes work fine if they are ajusted correctly, and only placed into the boards when needed,and not left in situ for the bee's to propolise the springs up,also a good idea to place a queen excluder above the clearer board when clearing supers with porter escapes.

A rapid clearer board, kept only for clearing supers,and with no moving parts is far superior,or a blower which i much prefer myself.