Saturday, June 25, 2022

  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • Blog Home
  • Shop Murdoch’s
Murdoch's Blog: The Dirt
  • Home
  • How-To
  • Gritty Stories
  • Events
  • Company News
Navigation
Top Soil
  • How-To & EducationWhat’s the Deal with Ancient Grains?
  • New StuffTop 10 Cutest Winter Boots of the Season
  • How-To & Education4 of Murdoch’s Favorite Men’s Jeans
  • How-To & EducationBasic Trick Training With Treats
  • How-To & EducationInspecting Your Hive
How-To & Education When to Add Honey Supers to a Standard Hive

When to Add Honey Supers to a Standard Hive

June 6, 2016 |
Posted by Jan Nesset
| How-To & Education | 23785 views |
When to Add Honey Supers to a Standard Hive

Medium supers, like those shown here, are the most common honey super size used by beekeepers. Note that this beekeeper has omitted using queen excluders. A queen excluder would normally be placed between the topmost brood box and the lowest super. Some beekeepers feel that queen excluders are unnecessary, and that they interfere with the movement of workers carrying pollen. Photo by Ruth O’Neill

Written by Ruth O’Neill. Ruth is a Research Associate in the Wanner Extension Entomology Lab at Montana State University, who cooperates on a variety of projects related to insect pests of crops.  She has experience as a hobbyist beekeeper, and has a special interest in honey bee health and protection.

When to Add Honey Supers to a Standard (Langstroth) Hive

If you haven’t done so already, you may be overdue for adding honey supers to your hives.  Honey supers are essential for honey collection, but perhaps just as important for relieving overcrowding inside the hive.

Throughout May and especially June, plants are practically dripping with nectar.  By mid-June the workers in a vigorous and well-established colony have already filled the available cells in the brood boxes with ripening nectar, and there is a booming nursery of developing brood in the center of the brood chamber.  At the same time, worker numbers are peaking in June.

Medium bee box (aka super) available at Murdoch’s and murdochs.com

In terms of the best timing for when to add honey supers, a good rule of thumb is to super your hive when eight of the ten frames in the top brood chamber box are being used for brood and for nectar/honey/pollen storage.  If you are a bit unsure about when to add supers, you are better off adding too early rather than too late.

What happens if you add supers too late?

All of this spring activity can lead to overcrowding and confusion in the hive.  When colonies are jammed up in this way, it increases the likelihood that the colony will swarm – meaning that the old queen will fly off with a large portion of the workers, plus whatever stored nectar they can stuff into their honey stomachs, to look for new housing.

What happens if you add supers too early?

An early-supered colony will have  a larger nest volume needing climate control, and they will have a lot of empty real estate to protect from nest invaders like wax moths.  Also, the workers may rush up to the super and start filling it with honey before they have finished putting much away down below, on the periphery of the combs in the brood chamber – honey they will need when winter comes.

First-Year Hives

Even newly-established hives must be watched carefully to be sure there is enough room for honey storage.  You can’t always expect to get surplus honey from a new colony, because they typically must devote their resources to building up their numbers, to making wax for the combs, and to storing enough honey for their own use during the winter.  But if conditions are good, you can sometimes add one or two supers and get a small honey harvest in the first year.

queen excluder

Harvest Lane Honey queen excluder available at Murdoch’s and murdochs.com

Queen Excluders

Most beekeepers like to use a queen excluder between the brood chamber and the honey supers, to keep the queen from laying eggs in the frames that are to be harvested for honey. A queen excluder is a sheet made of thin metal bars or of perforated plastic that fits over the brood chamber. The workers can come and go but the queen, with her wider body, can’t squeeze her way through them to get into the supers.

Types of Supers

Honey supers are shorter and thus lighter than brood boxes but are otherwise identical, and they use the same types of frames and foundation sheets.  The size of super that you use is a matter of personal preference. A shallow super (5 ¾ inches high) weighs about 40 lbs when full; a medium super (6 5/8 inches high) weighs about 60 lbs.  If you decide to use a standard deep box (9 5/8 inches high) as a honey super, it could end up weighing 90 lbs when full of honey, something most beekeepers would rather avoid.

Shop for beekeeping supplies

Share this with your friends:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Share on Tumblr
Tagged :Bees, Farming
prev Compare Options for a New Lawn: Seed vs Sod
next Sights and Sounds of the Wilsall Rodeo

Related Posts

Every Grandkid Needs a John Deere Battery Operated Gator

March 11, 2016

Registering Hobbyist Beehives & Other Important State Regulations

March 15, 2019

What is the biggest threat to your beehive? Varroa Mites

January 14, 2016

Comment on Facebook

The Dirt is Published by Murdoch’s Ranch & Home Supply

Advertisment

Filter By

Ag Supplies Ariat Backyard Chickens Bees Boots Carhartt chainsaw chaps chicken coop chickens chick feed Christmas cowboy hat Customers Dog Food dogs employment equine Farming Fashion Feed Fencing Gardening Gifts Goats Honda Husqvarna Jeans Kids' clothing Men's clothing Power Equipment Ranching Reviews Rodeo safety equipment Silverthorne sporting goods Stihl team members tools Toys Westminster Women's clothing Wrangler Wyoming

Most Popular Posts

  • How Much Do Carhartt Pants Shrink?

    How Much Do Carhartt Pants Shrink?

    September 22, 2015 | 46258 views |
  • Get Your Cowboy Hat in Shape

    Get Your Cowboy Hat in Shape

    June 3, 2015 | 44982 views |
  • Can I Tuck My Jeans into My Boots?

    Can I Tuck My Jeans into My Boots?

    August 20, 2015 | 39994 views |
  • How to Winterize a Beehive

    How to Winterize a Beehive

    September 16, 2016 | 34964 views |
  • Inexpensive, Easy Way to Repair Muck Boots

    Inexpensive, Easy Way to Repair Muck Boots

    October 24, 2016 | 32979 views |

Like the Dirt!

Like the Dirt!

Subscribe to Blog Via Email

Old Dirt

  • July 2021
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • January 2018
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015

The Dirt Published by Murdoch’s

murdochs logo

Copyright 2018 · Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply

  • /Blog Home
  • /Shop Murdoch’s
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.