Feeding with a super on

[Andrew2000]

I had a super under my brood box for the winter. Bees were fed with fondant and when examining hive, there are stores in the under-super.

I was always taught that the golden rule is never to feed with a super on. Any advice on this and given that I fed the bees fondant for the winter, can these super frames go anywhere near a honey extractor???!

 

[Finman]

I had a super under my brood box for the winter. Bees were fed with fondant and when examining hive, there are stores in the under-super.

I was always taught that the golden rule is never to feed with a super on. Any advice on this and given that I fed the bees fondant for the winter, can these super frames go anywhere near a honey extractor???!

You may use the super as brood box. Then it nothing but brood and half.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I wouldn't. They'll store fondant as readily as syrup

 

[Poly Hive]

Take it off and wrap it up well and keep for the winter. Winter is coming...

PH

 

[Andrew2000]

That was my other option, to just retain the super frames of stores that they have created and store them til winter. I have read about this, do they need to be stored in controlled conditions??

 

[Poly Hive]

Yes.

Bee proof ones.



PH

 

[ShinySideUp]

Yes.

Bee proof ones.

PH

In my experience there is no such thing.

Last year I was downstairs in the kitchen and the bathroom window was open a little. The bees managed to navigate the window, the bathroom, the stairs, the living room, round two corners and into the kitchen to find me filtering some honey -- my hives are 70 metres away from the house. Tenacious little buggers.

 

[Finman]

That was my other option, to just retain the super frames of stores that they have created and store them til winter. I have read about this, do they need to be stored in controlled conditions??

Wax moth may wait them

 

[Andrew2000]

I have found that wax moths don’t like freezers. 48 hours normally does everything then store them in cling film.

Only done that for dry frames, for wet frames, I’ll the bees still eat if i freeze it and will anything go off if I store it for 6 months??

 

[enrico]

I have found freezers don't kill was moth. Use certan and then store in a large plastic box in cool conditions.
E

 

[For want of a better word]

You may use the super as brood box. Then it nothing but brood and half.

ie leave it where it is and the bees will utilise the stores.

An option is to bruise the stores and fit one inch laths at the sides on top of the "super sized box" and put the brood box back on top, for a week or so.
Bees will find their stores in the lower box difficult to defend and should move them up into the main brood. Do this before the main flow of nectar gets going.

Downside is that this could encourage robbing.

I would just put the super on top of the brood, go brood and half.... put a qx on top and another honey super on top of that.... sort of the traditional and time honoured way!

Yeghes da

 

[Poly Hive]

SSU? Extracting with an open window? Really?

Well you know better now eh?

PH

 

[thorn]

Take it off and wrap it up well and keep for the winter. Winter is coming...

PH

But not in a polythene sack. Wax moths will eat their way in, as I discovered to my cost when I stored three full supers that way, having taken them off hives that were too high to manage comfortably before I was ready to extract.

 

[Finman]

.
Actually too much winter food is not a problem. It is a problem if food is finish. use to take off extra food frames that the queen has space to lay. Later I feed frames back to hive. They are good to artificial swarms when they draw combs.

The last thing is to wash combs with warm water. The value of sugar is not much, but ready combs are valuble.

 

[ASPIRERITE]

leave it put a queen excluder on top put your brood box on top and wait. Take each frame off as they empty it and add a blank. If they don't take it Ill be surprised and they could draw out the blanks

 

[Finman]

leave it put a queen excluder on top put your brood box on top and wait. Take each frame off as they empty it and add a blank. If they don't take it Ill be supprised

When frames are empty? Where the sugar went?

If hive has enough bees to occupye 3 boxes.

Excluder on top? Why at all?

The problem in the hive, too much winter food left, it is not worth these solutions what has been made.

Take extra food off, and that is it. To get a good build up, do not use hive space stubidly. You will loose in honey yield. Build up is now the most valuable.

To store extra food frames into freezener makes no sense. Really expencive sugar to keep it there.

 

[ASPIRERITE]

When frames are empty? Where the sugar went?

If hive has enough bees to occupye 3 boxes.

Excluder on top? Why at all?

The problem in the hive, too much winter food left, it is not worth these solutions what has been made.

Take extra food off, and that is it. To get a good build up, do not use hive space stubidly. You will loose in honey yield. Build up is now the most valuable.

To store extra food frames into freezener makes no sense. Really expencive sugar to keep it there.

The bees will use the honey and draw the frames = 1 extra drawn super. It will cost no bees just gives new bees a job to draw the frames and when drawn it can be placed on top to take advantage of honey flow = 2 drawn supers not 1 drawn super. It takes time and honey to make drawn frames. Bees at this time have little to do some days but draw frames when its warm enough say 1 week of rain but warm enough to draw and the honey is there to feed too. New bees like to draw new frames its there job. Oh and Id take a few frames of capped honey out the brood box and replace them with drawn blanks to get them to move it too, If I had a few drawn blank brood frames Id put em in the middle of the brood box. Temp could rise or fall its a gamble so place your bets and take the honey off or no. But just taking it off will do absolutely nothing but deprive them of honey they could be using unless you have drawn blanks to replace em and keep an eye on them to make sure they don't run low on stores. In that case you will be replacing the super you just took off and why move it in the first place? You have new brood to feed? Brood need honey and pollen so if your queen is good enough to take advantage she will need the honey and if your bees cant get out for a few weeks of rain they could have been building not waiting for you to put that feed or super on

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The bees will use the honey and draw the frames = 1 extra drawn super. It will cost no bees just gives new bees a job to draw the frames and when drawn it can be placed on top to take advantage of honey flow = 2 drawn supers not 1 drawn super. It takes time and honey to make drawn frames. Bees at this time have little to do some days but draw frames when its warm enough say 1 week of rain but warm enough to draw and the honey is there to feed too. New bees like to draw new frames its there job. Oh and Id take a few frames of capped honey out the brood box and replace them with drawn blanks to get them to move it too, If I had a few drawn blank brood frames Id put em in the middle of the brood box. Temp could rise or fall its a gamble so place your bets and take the honey off or no. But just taking it off will do absolutely nothing but deprive them of honey they could be using unless you have drawn blanks to replace em and keep an eye on them to make sure they don't run low on stores. In that case you will be replacing the super you just took off and why move it in the first place? You have new brood to feed? Brood need honey and pollen so if your queen is good enough to take advantage she will need the honey and if your bees cant get out for a few weeks of rain they could have been building not waiting for you to put that feed or super on

Have I stepped into the matrix?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Have I stepped into the matrix?

Could be, job to keep track, edited 27 times.

 

[ASPIRERITE]

Have I stepped into the matrix?