Wet supers

[Mabee]

why bother? that makes no sense whatsoever - just put them on top, they will clean them in situ and then fill them

I knew there would be one! Just because it's not what you do doesn't mean it makes no sense.

Reasons I do this:

1. Gives the bees a nutritional boost when there still isn't much forage around (instead of syrup/fondant).
2. Keeps the heat where the bees are (up top).
3. Multiple supers will be cleaned up so can be removed early on until ready to be added again on top.

 

[Antipodes]

Gosh, I'm wondering what (fun) I'm missing here. Something to do with unextracted ('crystallised') honey remaining in the frames, as opposed to the residue of extracted honey ('standard wet supers')?

Yes, presumably crystallised stores remaining in the frames during extraction as opposed to the standard residue of extracted honey.
It happens every season to me where some of the honey in the frames has crystallised (which I find can be hard to spot) and I put them in the extractor with the other frames ... all ok to start with and then the extractor fairly suddenly gets the wobbles! Very easy to miss them particularly if there has been brood in the frames and the honey is fresh where the brood has been but crytallised in other parts ....or hard to get the extraction timing right with fast crystallising honey like rape. These frames (that have been through the extractor) that are part standard "wet" but also with "stores" I give back to the bees promptly for them to eat. So yes, they are uncapped and have been through the extractor, but still contain stores of honey. The other possibility is perhaps some sort of heather honey which doesn't extract well and has stayed in the frames. It happens here to me with manuka, which doesn't come out easily with standard extraction.

Typically as I read it Alan has wet stored supers from extracting ( though this isn't mentioned )

But he has mentioned extraction. Have you read post #5 ?

 

[Murox]

Yes, presumably crystallised stores remaining in the frames during extraction as opposed to the standard residue of extracted honey.
It happens every season to me where some of the honey in the frames has crystallised (which I find can be hard to spot) and I put them in the extractor with the other frames .............snip............... The other possibility is perhaps some sort of heather honey which doesn't extract well and has stayed in the frames.

Similar happens to me most years with heather as I often get mixed heather&normal honey in the same frame. On my small scale its manageable with little hassle, but shall try using sections at the right time this year.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

crystalised honey residues, heather honey remains - it's all a non problem, just store them wet and the bees will clean it all out in the spring when you super up the hives again

 

[lindsay s]

I have stored my supers wet ever since I started beekeeping. I put them on in the spring as the bees need more room. The bees are often up in them before I’ve put the crown boards back on. As I said in a previous post “ there’s nothing better than the smell of fermenting honey to encourage the bees up into the supers” and it’s soon cleaned up. Also I find that most of the pollen in the supers doesn’t get mouldy when there are wrapped airtight. Old photo.

 

[Antipodes]

Similar happens to me most years with heather as I often get mixed heather&normal honey in the same frame. On my small scale its manageable with little hassle, but shall try using sections at the right time this year.

Good plan Murox. I get a honey here, from a small type of tree, that almost crystallises as you are extracting it. It completely failed this year because it relies on rain...so I barely had any issues with crystallisation, but the manuka was good, so I picked up some problems with that.
I spoke to an old chap here recently who was from Dorset and he was telling me of the joys, as a boy, of heather comb honey harvesting with his grandfather... with bees on the commons. It was lovely to hear the delight in his voice all these years later. He reminisced of how really beautiful and special it was, fresh in the comb.

 

[Murox]

crystalised honey residues, heather honey remains - it's all a non problem, just store them wet and the bees will clean it all out in the spring when you super up the hives again

Yes that's what I do usually.

 

[Murox]

Good plan Murox. I get a honey here, from a small type of tree, that almost crystallises as you are extracting it. It completely failed this year because it relies on rain...so I barely had any issues with crystallisation, but the manuka was good, so I picked up some problems with that.
I spoke to an old chap here recently who was from Dorset and he was telling me of the joys, as a boy, of heather comb honey harvesting with his grandfather... with bees on the commons. It was lovely to hear the delight in his voice all these years later. He reminisced of how really beautiful and special it was, fresh in the comb.

Sections or comb in little containers solves a few niggles quite well.

 

[Sutty]

crystalised honey residues, heather honey remains - it's all a non problem, just store them wet and the bees will clean it all out in the spring when you super up the hives again

If you have areas of uncapped heather honey or crystalised honey, and you put it back on top surely the bees will cap it with little or no change, thus creating the same problem of unbalanced frames at the next extraction.
If you put them underneath it may prevent this?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If you have areas of uncapped heather honey or crystalised honey, and you put it back on top surely the bees will cap it with little or no change,

no they will clear it out and start again