Do I feed when I put on supers?

[Darryl]

Hoping to add supers next week (weather permitting) after a mini check. I'll have a quick peek in the BB to see the state of play particularly to see what they have done with the outer frames. All super frames have new foundation so do I add a feed of syrup to help them along or do I just put the supers on and let them get on with drawing comb on it?

 

[blackcloud]

They will probably take the feed up into the super so if you want supermarket grade honey then yes

 

[Darryl]

They will probably take the feed up into the super so if you want supermarket grade honey then yes

That make sense. I was checking if I could support them drawing out new foundation. I've had confusing advice locally from "don't open up until just before they swarm" to "put a large bag of fondant on and leave them to it"

 

[Boston Bees]

Hoping to add supers next week (weather permitting) after a mini check. I'll have a quick peek in the BB to see the state of play particularly to see what they have done with the outer frames. All super frames have new foundation so do I add a feed of syrup to help them along or do I just put the supers on and let them get on with drawing comb on it?

If there isn't enough of a nectar flow to trigger them to draw comb, then they don't need a super. So, no feed.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've had confusing advice locally from "don't open up until just before they swarm" to "put a large bag of fondant on and leave them to it"

well, every village has it's ***** I suppose.
Firstly make sure they are strong enough to need a super, wait for some decent weather, inspect them first - when you say

I'll have a quick peek in the BB to see the state of play particularly to see what they have done with the outer frames

do you mean to say they aren't even drawn yet?
if they have seven or eight frames full of brood, then they need a super, otherwise they're not ready yet

 

[Darryl]

If there isn't enough of a nectar flow to trigger them to draw comb, then they don't need a super. So, no feed.

Which bring me to the next question. What are the signs of "enough of a nectar flow"?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What are the signs of "enough of a nectar flow"

when there's an abundance of forage, the bees are bringing nectar and there's evidence of them storing it in the brood box

 

[Erichalfbee]

Which bring me to the next question. What are the signs of "enough of a nectar flow"?

What’s flowering around you? It’s worth getting out and about to see

 

[Darryl]

well, every village has it's ***** I suppose.
Firstly make sure they are strong enough to need a super, wait for some decent weather, inspect them first - when you say

do you mean to say they aren't even drawn yet?
if they have seven or eight frames full of brood, then they need a super, otherwise they're not ready yet

Thanks. Starting to make sense now. I'll inspect at the earliest safe opportunity.

What’s flowering around you? It’s worth getting out and about to see

Crocus just finished (pollen gathered in quantity). Daffodil and dandelion started, willow and blackthorn also.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Dandelions and willow are both an excellent source of both pollen and nectar. Some years I get dandelion honey

 

[enrico]

Please don't be too eager to do anything yet. What appears to you to be loads of bees is probably not! The bees need to build up at this time of the year . Putting a super on too early will not let them do that. As the weather warms properly do an inspection and see how many frames have brood on and if there are empty frames. If there are empty frames then don't add a super until you see either brood or nectar on every frame. Try and inspect every week until this happens. It sounds to me as if you haven't done much hands on work so try and get some help if you can. Find out what the different cells look like so you will be able to identify brood, drone brood and queen cells and cups. This one of the year needs a bit of patience and is a good time for you to learn basic skills before you really get .... Loads of bees!

 

[user 819]

Which bring me to the next question. What are the signs of "enough of a nectar flow"?

When the traffic in /out is pretty incessant with little or no let up, one will know when they are on it just by watching. On a nice day one can quickly look in to see frames of fresh nectar or wax being drawn out if it is in place.
No use though adding supers as said unless the bees need it, this is determined usually by how many brood frames are fully filled with brood and not just patches on a few frames. Minimum before I super is 70/80% of brood fully laid up or no room for her to lay after that because of nectar blocking. It is all about judgement on a hive to hive basis and not a one fits all so they all must be the same attitude.