When to add a super ???

[Jed D]

We had a quick peek at some of our busy colonies last week..
The biggest two,are on 6 frames of brood + have capped drone brood..
Good stores ( maybe to much in one ) so swopped for some drawn comb..
Now for the question...
Considering the weather ( chilly nights etc ) and lots of OSR starting to flower.
Next weeks daytime temp in our area 13/16c

When would you guys & girls add a super ???
Jed.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

not yet that's for sure - unless you have loads of OSR nearby starting to flower.

 

[Jed D]

My that was a quick answer....
Not loads of OSR flowering... ( Yet )
More the sides of the fields i.e. against the hedges are flowering , 30 yards in to a 50 acre field...
No real nectar flow as yet ' but at a wild guess, two weeks away !!!!

 

[For want of a better word]

6 frames is the size of a good nuc.. only 1/2 full in my 12 frame Polly Nationals.
Wait.. and remember everytime you go in pulling frames out to satisfy your curiosity.. you put the bees back another week!
Not T shirt weather quite yet!!

Nos da

 

[YorkshireBees]

Personally when I prise the crown board off and find this sight then I know it's time for a super!

It may be still getting cold at night but the OSR near me is further advance with some fields 10-20% in flower and increasing daily.

Although I haven't completed many full inspections I can tell when the 2nd frame in looks like this that they are getting enough nectar and need somewhere to put it!

 

[mbc]

If they're on six good frames of brood then they'll definitely need more space before it hatches out.
I'm starting to super some of my more advanced colonies and promoting the better nucs into full size hives this week. My bit of osr is barely flowering yet but the bees need the space, hold them back through lack of space and you risk them losing momentum or starting to swarm prematurely.

 

[oliver90owner]

Mbc is on the money. IF the weather continues warm they will likely need supering in the next week. Some OSR is now well in flower but a lot is on the cusp. A week of good weather will see it in fairly full bloom - but if it is cold there will be not be so much nectar, so it is up to the beekeeper to act appropriately. Failure could mean a colony set back, or early swarming..

4 frames of open brood will be generating a fair amount of warmth. The strong ones may soon achieve that state. Drone brood emerging can mean swarming any time after the next couple of weeks if they are overcrowded...

 

[Poly Hive]

Super on 8+ frames of brood and the forecast for the next week is rubbish.

Super too early and it will set them back hard.

PH

 

[masterBK]

You initially super to give them extra room never mind whether there is any honey likely to come in the near future. They don't have to be congested for more than a few days to trigger the swarming impulse. I teach beginners to super when their bees are fully occupying 8 seams. People delayed supering in 2012 (the year of the swarm) when the weather was awful for weeks and also because of the weather didn't check too often.

 

[Jed D]

Thanks guys , there's some food for thought in there...
I worry about cold nights ' but they do seem keen to get going...
I'm also thinking about space... A super would give them somewhere to move stores too... i.e. make brooding space..
It's always a juggle with OSR and the weather...
A couple of years ago I had bees on the side of a windy field ( always seemed to cold for a proper inspection ) some kept adding supers...
End up with 90lbs of rock hard honey ( 3 supers ) and a good swarm in the nearby Oak tree...

P.S. Does the news paper between brood box and first super help ????

 

[pargyle]

We've been round this a few times before ... some good advice here:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=9747

and here:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=9800

Personally .. I wait for about 7 good frames of brood (I'm on 14 x 12).

 

[BeeJayBee]

You initially super to give them extra room never mind whether there is any honey likely to come in the near future. They don't have to be congested for more than a few days to trigger the swarming impulse. I teach beginners to super when their bees are fully occupying 8 seams. People delayed supering in 2012 (the year of the swarm) when the weather was awful for weeks and also because of the weather didn't check too often.

I'm also thinking about space... A super would give them somewhere to move stores too... i.e. make brooding space..

One frame of brood makes three frames of bees. Overcrowding can be one of the triggers for swarming.

Some people forget that the whole colony has to have somewhere to go overnight.

I worry about cold nights ' but they do seem keen to get going...

Put some insulation above the crown board to help keep the heat in. Heat rises and can pass straight out through the roof.

 

[REDWOOD]

If you are not quite sure what to do then put a super on, better to be safe than sorry, it takes quite a few years experience to get the timing right and every year is different


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PaulCarroll]

I agree with Redwood. This winter has been difficult in terms of being so mild in December that bees were flying everyday, to the position where even now we have really to see a couple of dry days with consistent warmth. However, in this part of the world I have noticed as I walk the dogs in the fields that the OSR has in the past few days burst into flower on a vast scale - I have accordingly added a super to each of my colonies as I feel more comfortable providing the space rather than not given the situation.

 

[jeff33]

I added a super yesterday. the deep had 8 frames of brood + store and the super full of brood and store. I had to shift some shallow frames of nectar on another super and replace with foundation. That way I have bees going up to the 2nd super to deal with the nectar and release congestion below (well I hope so anyway).

 

[BeeJayBee]

I added a super yesterday. the deep had 8 frames of brood + store and the super full of brood and store.

Ah! You didn't mention you were using brood and a half.

I had to shift some shallow frames of nectar on another super and replace with foundation. That way I have bees going up to the 2nd super to deal with the nectar and release congestion below (well I hope so anyway).

Sounds like a good plan.

You might like to look up "checkerboarding" as a way of encouraging bees into a super so they spread themselves out a bit more. Alternate frames of stores and foundation across two supers (shallows), with the foundation frames in the upper box above a frame of stores in the lower box etc.

 

[BeeJuice]

It was warm and sunny today so I did an inspection. This is my first year so I am a bit in the dark..

8 frames of bees - three frames of honey/pollen and one frame empty drawn foundation. The bees are making brace comb between the top of the frames and the crown board and storing honey..

I've got plumb and apple trees in flower and loads of OSR which has been gradually turning more yellow over the last two weeks.

Lots of activity at the front of the hive.

Time for a super?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It was warm and sunny today so I did an inspection. This is my first year so I am a bit in the dark..

8 frames of bees - three frames of honey/pollen and one frame empty drawn foundation. The bees are making brace comb between the top of the frames and the crown board and storing honey..

I've got plumb and apple trees in flower and loads of OSR which has been gradually turning more yellow over the last two weeks.

Lots of activity at the front of the hive.

Time for a super?

ASAP I'd say - they're obviously struggling for space

 

[BeeJuice]

ASAP I'd say - they're obviously struggling for space

Well that's a relief. Whilst I was doing the inspection I had to make a decision as the weather over the next few days will be cold and wet so no chance to get back in - so added a super hoping it was the right call. A great relief to hear that it was (hopefully) the right thing to do.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Jed D]

We managed to have a quick peek at our biggest colonies today.
Pleased to say , 5 of our hives now have their first supers on..
The weather here doesn't look great over the weekend ' but we could be getting some better days early next week..
Fresh nectar coming in and being stored in brace comb , between top bars and crownboards...
It looks like most of the other colonies are a week or two behide..
But a lot can change in a week of spring build up....