How much honey to leave?

[Levitt53]

On the subject of winter feeding with honey, I've nadir'd a super because I made a mistake and treated with Apiguard while leaving the super on (tainted honey). My worry is that the queen will start to lay in the nadir and I'll end up with a brood and a half with a honey super at the bottom. My thought was the bees would move the honey up into the 14 x 12 and I didn't think about the queen moving down. I'm not sure how to get the nadir out now as it's full of bees, possibly the queen, and a fair bit of honey.

Leave it until February then whip it out perhaps?

I did the same thing last year. I took the super away early. There were no signs of the queen having been down there. There were 3 frames with some honey in them but I kept them and plan to mark them and give them back to the bees again this winter.

 

[JWF]

I nadir supers with honey.
Never had the queen laying downwards...

I weigh hives pre and post winter. Average consumption around 15kg

Every hive that I've nadired a super on has had brood in by the first inspection in the spring, but I'm in the southeast so your own situation could well be different.

Having some brood in the super isn't a problem though, as it just gets popped up above a queen excluder during the first inspection - just have to let drones out after they've hatched as they get trapped.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Every hive that I've nadired a super on has had brood in by the first inspection in the spring, but I'm in the southeast so your own situation could well be different.

Having some brood in the super isn't a problem though, as it just gets popped up above a queen excluder during the first inspection - just have to let drones out after they've hatched as they get trapped.

If you have brood in a natured shallow in spring then it must mean your brood box is to small?

 

[JWF]

If you have brood in a natured shallow in spring then it must mean your brood box is to small?

Possibly, I'm in the process of moving over to 14*12 so I'll see what happens this year

 

[enrico]

And you also don't usually get drones in your first inspection so just put it over QE.
E

 

[For want of a better word]

And you also don't usually get drones in your first inspection so just put it over QE.
E

Shirley... that depends when your first inspection is... have seen reports here on first inspections as early as late February... and as late as Mayday!!

Yeghes da

 

[JWF]

Shirley... that depends when your first inspection is... have seen reports here on first inspections as early as late February... and as late as Mayday!!

Yeghes da

Normally sometime in April, and Kentish drones like to appear nice and early!