Supers

[Tonych224]

One thing that has played on my tiny little mind is...

Why is a super called a super?

Is it because what you find inside (honey) is super?!?!

 

[Polyanwood]

Perhaps. Or perhaps it is because 'super' means above.

 

[Black Comb]

 

[oliver90owner]

Most framed-hive beekeepers were likely learned men, so some would have used the latin terms and it has been accepted into the beekeeping vocabulary. It likely didn't expressly mean for honey collection, just a box fitted over. Probably before queen excluders were invented?

 

[itma]

Why is a super called a super?
...

A shallow box should only be called a super when it is above the brood.
And a super doesn't have to be shallow ...
Placed below the brood, such a box should be referred to as a 'nadir'.

If talking about the box and its frames, off the hive, the pedantically correct thing would be to refer to it as being a 'shallow' (if it is!) rather than a super (or nadir).
However, most would try to understand what you meant by 'super' ...

 

[Tonych224]

Thank you all... Question answered.

 

[ROACHMAN]

Isnt super the latin for 'on top'

 

[enrico]

Ah that's what my wife means when she says I'm super!!!

 

[tonybloke]

Isnt super the latin for 'on top'

not exactly, it means 'superior' which in english means 'above'

loads of beekeeping terminology (greek word) is 'foreign'

 

[REDWOOD]

above in Latin is supra
on top in Latin is in vertice
above in welsh is uchod

 

[REDWOOD]

Now we know why a super is a super so why are BB called deep brood boxes ? whats a shallow BB ? is it a super used as a BB, It confused the hell out of me before I started BK..... what's wrong with small medium and large,

 

[tonybloke]

'small, medium, large' as descriptive words, seem to refer to actaul total volume, whist 'shallow' and 'deep' refer to the depth of the box, not the volume.
any box that has brood in it should be called a brood box

is this turning into an english language forum?

 

[REDWOOD]

OK so lets call them shallow deep and extra deep BB, the extra deep being the 14x12

 

[Nic Rhodes]

For BS we have always used shallow and deep. 14 x 12 is 14 x 12. Terms like jumbo and extra deep just confuse the issue further [I have had to ask for clarification here on terms some have used in the past as I just didn't know what size they meant] and more usually apply elsewhere like LS. Lets stick to the correct terminology of BS shallow, BS deep and 14 X 12.

 

[oliver90owner]

what's wrong with small medium and large,

They are shallows, deeps and extra deeps.

The extra deeps were also called jumbo and are now often referred to as 14 x 12s.

Supers are generally boxes for honey (usually over a queen excluder, but not universally) and broods are obvious. Any box can be used for either duty.

Brood boxes: I have used shallows as single, double and for 14 x 12 before now; as well as deeps and jumbos.

Supers: All three sizes have been used as supers. Gets 14 x 12s drawn very evenly during a really strong flow (like OSR) so they are ready for later use as broods.

That is (was) the terminology in the British Standard, I believe.

 

[richardbees]

nice question!

Any building above deck on a ship is called superstructure and passengers on cargo ships are called 'supercargo'

and Rachel Weisz is just super......

 

[Hivemaker.]

The extra deeps were also called jumbo

That is (was) the terminology in the British Standard, I believe.

Not heard of them being described as jumbo up until now, but national 14x12.
They were not part of the original BS.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Beekeeping/British_National_(or_Modified_National)

http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/hist.html

 

[Little John]

The word super is derived from the Latin adverb and preposition super, meaning "above, over, on the top of, beyond, besides, or in addition to".

I agree about (being on the top of) Rachel Weisz ...

LJ

 

[Hombre]

So why Nadir (from the Arabic) rather than Sub, as in substructure

It's all just names and names are labels, which can be attached to most things as the users wish, from time to time. Perhaps the term Jumbo isn't used more because everyone knows that Jumbos have wings. If we didn't realise it with the elephant, then certainly the idea was reinforced by Boeing with their introduction of the 737 around 1970.

 

[Ely]

what's wrong with small medium and large,

They are shallows, deeps and extra deeps.

The extra deeps were also called jumbo and are now often referred to as 14 x 12s.

Supers are generally boxes for honey (usually over a queen excluder, but not universally) and broods are obvious. Any box can be used for either duty.

Brood boxes: I have used shallows as single, double and for 14 x 12 before now; as well as deeps and jumbos.

Supers: All three sizes have been used as supers. Gets 14 x 12s drawn very evenly during a really strong flow (like OSR) so they are ready for later use as broods.

That is (was) the terminology in the British Standard, I believe.

It's a shame more people don't use commercial 16x10 brood boxes rather than 14x12, maybe there would be a poly version. They are far superior to inspect