When to put a Super on

[mike99]

My only Colony seems to be thriving, eating the fondant I gave them, flying around wildly and bringing in loads of Pollen. I have just looked and the forecast is looking much like it is now for the next week.
I haven't done any sort of inspections yet but just wondering at what point should I add my first Super. I don't have any drawn Super frames as they struggled to fill the BB last summer.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

When they are on seven or eight frames of brood and there's a fair amount of nectar coming in (but that's not a hard and fast rule, depends on other factors sometimes) don't be paniked by the usual 'experts' who tell everyone they are looking at extracting by Easter

 

[Poly Hive]

All those bees you are seeing today need to die off and be replaced yet. They are Winter bees so are coming to the end of their lives.

As said super on 8 frames of brood to be safe. Remember adding 50% more volume to a colony is a big jump.

I was told earlier today that Aberdeenshire has a forecast for snow next week.... we ain't out of Winter just yet.

PH

 

[Beefriendly]

the usual 'experts' who tell everyone they are looking at extracting by Easter

Easter be damned....I'll have you know I extracted and jarred my first three supers of honey this afternoon.
It was a pleasant afternoon catnap...then, alas, I woke up.
Doh...

 

[Millet]

Mike from my experiences of keeping hives in Northumberland for several years says it is far to early for supers..i remember Von getting sun burn in February one year and then it snowed in March..each year i need put a super on around May.. timing differs depending on the weather and what is on offer for the nectar flow..i have three hives here with the same Queens as yours and none of them will be ready till the times i have stated..

 

[For want of a better word]

Easter be damned....I'll have you know I extracted and jarred my first three supers of honey this afternoon.
It was a pleasant afternoon catnap...then, alas, I woke up.
Doh...

That would be the Snow drop honey you were bragging about?

 

[Poly Hive]

The key to supering is the colony strength not the forage.

If its pouring nectar and there are but four or five frames of brood there is no point in supering.

If there are 8 frames of brood and most of them are hatching, they need more room and supered up to achieve that whether or not there is a flow.

The bees tell us what they need not us them.

PH

 

[Millet]

The key to supering is the colony strength not the forage.

If its pouring nectar and there are but four or five frames of brood there is no point in supering.

If there are 8 frames of brood and most of them are hatching, they need more room and supered up to achieve that whether or not there is a flow.

The bees tell us what they need not us them.

PH

True PH i suppose.. but once these Queens get going the brood box/boxes usually get full of brood pretty quickly more so again with the KB line of Buckfast Queens... coupled with them being on the edge of a **** field with a good flow on is not a gamble i will take..i would hate to see the brood area available getting filled with honey rather than brood..so from personal experience here the supers will be on when the flow starts..obviously any smaller colonies under six frames of brood will be put on hold for a week or two..that is how i have been doing it here and it seems to work..

 

[Curly green fingers]

Last year for me 6/7 frames of brood a really good honey flow, nectar had to be removed from the brood box fresh comb added to compensate and super added, no QE her royal-ness dicided to start laying in the super.second super added , the honey flow went from willow straight into hawthorne /cherry sycamores .
First super was put on April 11th.
These girls are Amm X carnica bee's

 

[bpmurray]

There are loads of "rules", 8 frames of brood, 2 frames left, etc. Just to add another, I use the rule of thumb that there are 8 frames of bees.

 

[Millet]

There are loads of "rules", 8 frames of brood, 2 frames left, etc. Just to add another, I use the rule of thumb that there are 8 frames of bees.

Not at this time of the year though..

 

[bpmurray]

Not at this time of the year though..

Absolutely true. Here in Ireland, we have a useful date in the calendar that tags the start of the season. St. Patrick's Day, 17th March, is considered the earliest that the hive can be inspected assuming, of course, that the temperature is above 14C.

 

[mike99]

Thanks for all your replies. To be honest I was just trying to map out the timetable for coming out of winter. I wasn’t proposing putting one on now. I think the general consensus is 8 frames of brood. It is still quite cool in the morning here still and the weather is due to get damp by the weekend.

 

[Poly Hive]

Temps are halving from the highs of the last few days and this morning its thick fog here.

PH

 

[Angularity]

Thanks for all your replies. To be honest I was just trying to map out the timetable for coming out of winter. I wasn’t proposing putting one on now. I think the general consensus is 8 frames of brood. It is still quite cool in the morning here still and the weather is due to get damp by the weekend.

When someone from Whitley Bay says, "It's quite cool", a nesh southerner like me thinks "People are dropping from hypothermia".

 

[Jonnyl]

Can any of you more learned advise of how many brood frames i should have before supering a 14x12? Thank you.

 

[Poly Hive]

Us northeners and Scots are made of sterner stuff.

It's currently 4C here this morning with thin fog. The bees are NOT flying unlike the last 6 days at this time and I rather doubt they will fly today at all.

We seem here at least to be back to what is normal for this date.

PH

 

[Hivemaker.]

We seem here at least to be back to what is normal for this date.

And here, not fond of these early warm spells, often comes with a downside later in the season, last spring was better.

 

[Poly Hive]

Had a mail this morning from an author in Northern Montana and she is saying they are having the coldest Feb for close to 100 years.

Odd how it balances up.

PH

 

[Murox]

Can any of you more learned advise of how many brood frames i should have before supering a 14x12? Thank you.

Its to do with how stuffed the box is with bees and how much laying room the Q has, (is it honey bound ? bees move honey up) Then think about when your first local nectar flow will start etc.