When to Add Honey Supers?

When to Add Honey Supers?

The ideal time to add a honey super is when the colony is strong, the brood nest is nearly full of bees, and the bees are actively drawing comb and storing nectar. Specifically, add a honey super when bees have filled approximately 80% of the existing hive body (or brood box) with brood, bees, and honey.

Understanding Honey Supers

Honey supers are essential components of a successful beekeeping operation. They are simply extra hive boxes placed on top of the brood nest, specifically designated for honey storage. Understanding their purpose and when to add them is crucial for maximizing honey production and ensuring the well-being of the bee colony.

Why Use Honey Supers?

There are several key benefits to using honey supers:

• Increased Honey Production: Providing ample space allows bees to store more honey, leading to a larger harvest. Without enough space, bees may swarm in search of new accommodations, reducing honey production or even ending the colony.
• Colony Health: Ample space reduces congestion and overcrowding, minimizing stress on the colony and promoting overall health. A healthy colony is less susceptible to disease and pests.
• Swarm Prevention: By giving the bees room to expand their honey stores, you can often prevent them from swarming, which involves splitting the colony and flying off in search of a new home, thus reducing your honey production.
• Ease of Harvesting: Honey supers typically contain only honey comb, making harvesting easier and more efficient. Brood boxes can contain capped brood, pollen, and honey, making them more cumbersome to extract honey from.
• Hive Weight Management: Adding supers allows you to distribute the overall weight of the hive, rather than having an extremely heavy brood box containing a lot of honey, which is more awkward to move.

The Process of Adding Honey Supers

Adding a honey super is a relatively straightforward process:

1. Inspect the Brood Box: Check the brood box to assess the colony’s strength and the amount of comb that is filled with brood, bees, and honey.
2. Determine the Need: If approximately 80% of the brood box is filled, it is time to add a honey super.
3. Prepare the Super: Choose the type of super (deep, medium, or shallow) and ensure it contains frames with either drawn comb or foundation. Drawn comb is ideal.
4. Place the Super: Gently lift the brood box lid and place the honey super directly on top of the brood box.
5. Replace the Lid: Carefully replace the hive lid.
6. Monitor the Bees: Observe the bees’ activity in the super over the next few weeks to ensure they are utilizing it for honey storage.

Factors Influencing When to Add a Honey Super

The timing of adding honey supers depends on various factors:

• Strength of the Colony: A strong, populous colony will fill a super more quickly than a weak one.
• Nectar Flow: The abundance of nectar sources in your area will influence how rapidly the bees fill the super. Peak nectar flow is the ideal time.
• Climate: Warmer climates generally have longer nectar flows than colder climates.
• Hive Location: Hives located near abundant nectar sources will fill supers more quickly.

Types of Honey Supers

There are three common sizes of honey supers:

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Adding Supers Too Early: Adding a super before the bees have filled the brood box can lead to the bees ignoring the super, wasting valuable space and resources.
• Adding Supers Too Late: Delaying adding a super can trigger swarming behavior, which will lead to less honey.
• Using the Wrong Size Super: Using a super that is too heavy or too light for your needs can make harvesting difficult or inefficient.
• Failing to Provide Foundation or Drawn Comb: Bees need a surface to build comb on. Providing foundation or, ideally, drawn comb encourages them to start storing honey in the super.

FAQs

What happens if I add a honey super too early?

Adding a super too early can lead to several problems. The bees may not move up into the super, leaving it empty. The bees may be spread too thinly, and they may have difficulty maintaining the temperature in the hive, particularly in cooler weather. This can also expose the comb to pests like small hive beetles.

How do I know if a honey super is full?

A full honey super will feel significantly heavier than an empty one. Visually, you should see the majority of the frames filled with capped honey. Capping is the process where the bees seal the honey cells with beeswax.

Should I use foundation or drawn comb in my honey supers?

Drawn comb is always the best option. It allows the bees to immediately begin storing honey. Foundation requires the bees to expend energy and resources building the comb before they can store honey.

What size honey super should I use?

The choice of honey super size depends on your physical capabilities and preferences. Shallow supers are the easiest to lift, while deep supers hold the most honey. Medium supers offer a good compromise.

Can I reuse honey supers?

Yes, honey supers can be reused. After harvesting the honey, you can return the super to the hive for the bees to clean up any remaining honey. Ensure the frames are in good condition and free of pests or diseases.

How many honey supers can I add to a hive?

The number of honey supers you can add depends on the strength of the colony and the nectar flow. Add them as needed. It’s better to err on the side of adding too many rather than too few, as long as the colony is strong. Adding several supers is not unusual in strong nectar flows.

What is a queen excluder, and should I use one?

A queen excluder is a metal or plastic grid that prevents the queen from laying eggs in the honey supers. Many beekeepers use them to keep the brood nest separate from the honey stores, resulting in cleaner honey.

Do I need to treat the honey supers for pests or diseases?

It’s generally not recommended to treat honey supers with chemicals, especially during the nectar flow, to avoid contaminating the honey. Focus on maintaining a healthy colony and controlling pests and diseases in the brood box.

How do I harvest honey from the supers?

Harvesting honey involves removing the frames from the supers, uncapping the honey cells, and extracting the honey using a honey extractor. There are many resources online and in print that detail this process.

Can I leave a honey super on the hive over winter?

In some climates, leaving a honey super on the hive over winter can provide the bees with extra food stores to help them survive the cold months. This is only recommended if the super contains a significant amount of honey and the colony is strong.

How do I store empty honey supers?

Store empty honey supers in a cool, dry place to prevent wax moth infestations. You can also freeze the frames to kill any existing wax moth larvae. Sealing the supers in airtight containers or wrapping them in plastic can also help prevent infestations.

What if the bees don’t go up into the honey super after I add it?

If the bees don’t go up into the super, try spraying the frames with a light sugar syrup solution or adding a frame of uncapped honey from the brood box to the super to entice them. Ensure the super is properly placed on top of the brood box with no gaps.

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