A honey bee escape board is a specialized inner cover placed between the honey supers and the brood boxes of a hive. Its purpose is to gently clear the honey supers of bees, allowing for a calm and stress-free harvest without harming the colony.
A bee escape board is fundamentally a passive, one-way door for bees. It leverages their natural instincts to clear honey supers over 24-48 hours, making it one of the most gentle and least disruptive methods available for honey harvesting.
How the Escape Board Works
An escape board works by creating a simple maze or valve that is easy for bees to navigate in one direction (down) but difficult or impossible to navigate in the other (up).
The Core Principle: A One-Way Exit
The device contains one or more small "escapes" designed to exploit bee behavior. Common designs, like the triangle or Porter bee escape, funnel bees through a channel that is simple to enter from the top but confusing to re-enter from the bottom.
Bees in the honey super naturally travel down into the brood chamber to tend to the queen and brood. Once they pass through the escape board, they cannot find their way back up into the super.
The Process: Installation and Timing
The beekeeper inserts the escape board directly beneath the honey supers that are ready for harvest. It is typically left in place for 24 to 48 hours.
During this period, the worker bees gradually move down into the main hive body, leaving the honey supers nearly empty and ready for removal.
Why It's the Preferred Method for Many
The primary reason for its preference is its gentle, low-stress nature, which benefits both the bees and the beekeeper.
Minimizing Harm to the Colony
Alternative methods, such as manually brushing bees off frames or using a bee blower, can be aggressive, injuring or killing bees in the process. Fume boards use chemical repellents that can be stressful for the colony.
The escape board avoids all of this, ensuring the bees leave the supers unharmed and of their own accord.
Reducing Hive Stress and Aggression
Forced removal methods agitate the colony, releasing alarm pheromones and making the bees defensive and aggressive.
Using an escape board results in a calm hive. When the beekeeper returns to remove the supers, the bees are in their normal disposition, making the entire process safer and more pleasant.
Understanding the Trade-offs
While highly effective, the bee escape board is not a perfect solution for every situation. Its main drawback is the time it requires.
The Time Requirement
This method is not immediate. It requires the beekeeper to visit the apiary twice: once to install the board and again one or two days later to remove the cleared supers.
For beekeepers with many hives or distant apiaries, this can be a significant logistical challenge compared to faster methods like using a fume board.
Conditions for Ineffectiveness
An escape board will not work properly if there is brood in the honey supers, as the nurse bees will not abandon the young. It is crucial to use a queen excluder to prevent the queen from laying eggs in the harvestable frames.
Similarly, poor weather can slow the process, as bees are less likely to move between hive boxes on cold or rainy days.
Making the Right Choice for Your Harvest
Selecting a clearing method depends on your beekeeping philosophy, the number of hives you manage, and your schedule.
- If your primary focus is the well-being of your bees and a calm working environment: The bee escape board is the superior choice, provided you can plan for the two-day clearing period.
- If your primary focus is speed and harvesting from many hives in a single visit: You may need to consider faster alternatives like a fume board, accepting the trade-off of increased stress on the colonies.
Ultimately, using a bee escape board is a testament to patient, bee-centric beekeeping.
Summary Table:
| Feature | Honey Bee Escape Board | Alternative Methods (e.g., Brushing, Blowing) |
|---|---|---|
| Bee Stress Level | Very Low | High |
| Risk of Bee Injury | Minimal | High |
| Harvest Speed | 24-48 hours | Immediate |
| Beekeeper Safety | High (Calm Bees) | Lower (Agitated Bees) |
| Required Visits | Two | One |
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