CornishBeeKeeper
New Bee
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2022
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- North Cornwall
- Hive Type
- warre
- Number of Hives
- 1
I have extracted my first 2 supers from 1 hive (approx 30lbs), but there I was a 3rd partially filled super on there which I have currently left. The super remaining is a mix of foundation and foundationless frames. Some of the foundationless frames are untouched. As it is partially filled should I:
1. Leave it and hope bees fill it up this super with stores before they hunker down for the winter. My worry is here is that if the bees do not draw it out fully, then it will be dead space above the cluster that the bees will need to heat but will never migrate up into as it will have no stores and no comb.
2. Remove the super now and feed these frames back to the bees from above the crown board so they can store that uncapped honey / nectar within the brood box. There is currently some capped honey at top of brood frames.
3. Nadir the partially filled super below the brood box so the current dead space is less of an issue as it will be below the cluster.
I have 2 other hives that have not had any honey extracted, but again these 2 hives have 1 partially filled super, similar to the above hive and again with a mix of foundation and foundationless frames. Similarly, the bees have put an amount of capped honey around the brood nest.
Grateful for any advice.
1. Leave it and hope bees fill it up this super with stores before they hunker down for the winter. My worry is here is that if the bees do not draw it out fully, then it will be dead space above the cluster that the bees will need to heat but will never migrate up into as it will have no stores and no comb.
2. Remove the super now and feed these frames back to the bees from above the crown board so they can store that uncapped honey / nectar within the brood box. There is currently some capped honey at top of brood frames.
3. Nadir the partially filled super below the brood box so the current dead space is less of an issue as it will be below the cluster.
I have 2 other hives that have not had any honey extracted, but again these 2 hives have 1 partially filled super, similar to the above hive and again with a mix of foundation and foundationless frames. Similarly, the bees have put an amount of capped honey around the brood nest.
Grateful for any advice.