next super - where?

Ros2710 · May 14, 2011

thanks for all the advice!

nonstandard · May 14, 2011

We had the National Bee Inspector at one of our assoc meetings this winter and he recommends under-supering and over-supering.

Under-supering - adding the second and subsequent supers under the others to encourage their use.

Over supering - especially in out apiaries - storing a super of wax or comb on top of the open crown board, to act as a buffer should there be a sudden nectar flow or a reason you cannot make it to the apiary. It seems the bees will ignore the over-super unless they run out of room and then they will start to use it.

Mandeville · May 16, 2011

Hivemaker. said:
Previous thread about supering.

ADDING SUPERS FOR EXTRACTED HONEY.
The actual operation is about the simplest in beekeeping: with the super ready on a stand beside the hive, remove the crown-board and put it over the supers; smoke once, put on the excluder, and lift the supers on top of it. Total time, about twenty seconds. If you are using a plain zinc excluder, you will have to scrape the tops of the brood-frames to allow it to lie flat—a job best done by firm smoking and one determined stroke per frame, rather than by many delicate strokes.

Estimating the right time and order for adding supers is more difficult; the advice used to be to super when the first crumbs of fresh white wax began to appear at the tops of the brood frames, but this is now reckoned as too late. Probably the stock is really only ready for supers when, on removing the cover-board (with only a whiff of smoke), you find bees at the top of the six middle frames.

The first super must, if possible , be of drawn combs and not foundation. Bees cannot draw out foundation until warm weather and plentiful nectar arrive, and if you insist on their doing so, will often swarm with ample room at their disposal – “room” which they cannot use.
It is now considered that the second, third and fourth supers may be added on top of the first and allowed to remain there. It is true that a super of foundation will be fully drawn faster if one puts it below the first super as soon as the bees have half-occupied it, but honey farmers say this is done at the expense of work in No.1 super, and that the overall work in a bock of supers is no better by this means than by “top supering”.

Snags:
Adding a cuper to early: the result is to drive the bees down from it, because of the loss of heat.

Putting a second super of foundation under the No.1 super without letting the bees start work on it in the upper position: this disheartens the bees and may cause swarming in the same way as giving foundation only in the No.1 super.

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Sorry if I'm being dim - but I don't understand the logic of this. If the bees go off in a swarm, they are expecting to have to build a lot of comb in their new home. Why are they able do that, but not draw out foundation?

Chris Luck · May 16, 2011

Sorry if I'm being dim - but I don't understand the logic of this. If the bees go off in a swarm, they are expecting to have to build a lot of comb in their new home. Why are they able do that, but not draw out foundation?

Ahh, but that would be too near to being natural.

Of course in Warré and TBH new comb is always made as the colony expands in Spring and Summer. The comb with the honey is removed when required by the owner, crushed and strained leaving new comb to be made again as required.

In my Dadent supers I tend to use either all drawn comb or a mix of drawn and new foundation when replacing old comb, rarely, if ever, all new foundation.

Chris

Teemore · May 16, 2011

Mandeville, its not that they cannot draw out foundation in a super, rather that they may decide not too. The colony will decide what suits it best at a given time and as bee keepers all we are trying to do is create a situation that makes the bees more inclined to remain in the 'original' hive rather than swarm. If bees are of a notion to swarm, eventually they will. Remember -as another forum member's signature says, "bees do nothing invariably!"