16-way Plastic Bee Escape

01 · THE FITTING

Under the hole, and firmly held

It goes under the central hole of the crown board, exits facing down, fixed with staples or short nails. That fixing is not cosmetic: if there is any gap between the escape and the timber, the bees find it and go back up where they should not, and then having sixteen exits was pointless.

02 · THE SIXTEEN EXITS

More mouths, less queue

The escape works as a funnel: the bees go down from the super into the brood chamber and cannot find the way back. With sixteen exits the clearing runs faster than with one- or two-mouth escapes, which bottleneck exactly when you are in a hurry. The mesh keeps air and scent contact between the two boxes, and that is what encourages the colony to go down instead of staying up.

03 · THE EMPTY SUPER TRICK

Give them somewhere to land

Before putting the crown board on, place a super with foundation or an empty half super over the brood chamber: it gives the colony a transit area and stops them crowding under the escape. Slide it on slowly so you do not crush bees. With that in place, the crown board with the escape facing the empty super goes on 24 or 48 hours before harvest.

04 · WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK

Heat, nectar and haste

With a strong nectar flow or a lot of heat, part of the colony insists on going up and the clearing stays half done; in cold weather it takes longer. And if you fit it on the morning of the harvest, you have not given it time: the escape works overnight. Even with stragglers, it saves most of the smoke and the frame-by-frame brushing.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Check that your crown board has a central hole, and what diameter: that is what decides whether this piece will seat.