when to add supers?

[prana vallabha]

hi .......my bees which were from a nuc have drawn all the foundation bar 3 sides so i am now thinking about supering so i am asking of when to add supers( the bees are in national brood box)

 

[Polyanwood]

I add super when there are 6 or 7 frames of brood - that's brood not drawn comb.

 

[susbees]

I add super when there are 6 or 7 frames of brood - that's brood not drawn comb.

Some say eight...that's BROOD not drawn comb as above...

 

[London-Scottish]

Hi, Just to follow on from the OP's initial question if I may.
Once you have decided the time is correct to add the super:
if its un-drawn comb, should you continue to feed (1:1 syrup)
particularly given the current changeable weather? To speed up drawing of super comb..

Thx

 

[Poly Hive]

No as you will contaminate the honey.

PH

 

[VEG]

I never feed to get supers drawn as they can store the syrup in the frames as they draw it out

 

[London-Scottish]

Thank you both, I thought as much.
So, feeding to help draw out brood comb given the bad weather...
Presumably that's ok? Plenty of laying going on, all really vibrant. It just seems to have slowed down since removing the feeder last week as weather had picked up but now all change again.... Unsure as I'd prefer to not fee for reasons you've already mentioned.

 

[susbees]

I never feed to get supers drawn as they can store the syrup in the frames as they draw it out

(and with PH )

 

[oliver90owner]

So, feeding to help draw out brood comb given the bad weather...

I don't. I feed only if they need it. If they have stores already, what is the point? They will build comb to store more sugar, that is about all. I want more bees; that means keeping them cosy and not diverting nurse bees to other duties (that will happen after the brood emerges and the colony gets stronger). Nothing worse than a colony full of sugar syrup but not strong enough to repel the wasps later in the summer.

 

[Tom Bick]

As with Rab.

Over feeding can block the drawn comb for the queen to lay.

 

[Andy Duff]

No as you will contaminate the honey.

PH

 

[prana vallabha]

thanks all who replied.... i will check how much brood they have on saturday , last check there was six frames of brood .... i will let you know ,....cheers

 

[rae]

It also depends on the conditions near you.

If you have 6 frames of brood, good weather and 100 acres of field beans next door ... put the super on.

From my experience of the area near you, it will probably be wet and cool. Not sure about the local forage!

 

[prana vallabha]

quite a lot of forage but very wet weather....

 

[susbees]

quite a lot of forage but very wet weather....

That's one way of putting it...25mm in 48 hr forecast. Flipping nuisance with queens to mate...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Finman]

.
I woukd say that if it is yield season, sugar feeding is forbidden. It is allways bad weather and good weathers, but don't rusch to feed sugar.Bees must get its food from nature. That is the rule of game.

When to add super?

When every seam is full of bees. Are you sure how full?
When you add the super/fundations, perhaps it takes one week that bees rise to the super. Yes, it was tool early.

I have cool weathers now.I add supers and boxes but bees do not occupy them.

When I see that new bees are emerging huge amounts and then I put one box up and one down.

So I put the new box under the brood box. Colony expands there and don't start to swarm.

Our day temps are 13-15C. Nature is full of blooming but bees consume all what they forage. They rear new brood and that is the main point.

Autumn rape is blooming but bees do not visit on them if it is 15C and some wind.

.