When to super
Posted: July 11th, 2019, 1:39 pm
I wasn't able to find a post that provides objective guidance on when to start putting on honey supers, so here goes.
I purchased a mature colony in two boxes of drawn comb this spring. I had some significant mite issues and then queen issues. I have now got the mites taken care of and requeened, but they've got some catching up to do. I've heard various opinions on when to super, but most seem to be based on evaluating how much foundation has been drawn. As the comb in my brood boxes is already drawn, this isn't helpful to me. How do others estimate when to apply a honey super? Is it at a particular number of seams or frames of bees, amount of bees plus brood, something else?
For reference, I will be putting on a super of all new foundation as I am just starting out. I am located far enough into Edmonton that they are unlikely to be foraging on any farmed fields.
Thanks
I purchased a mature colony in two boxes of drawn comb this spring. I had some significant mite issues and then queen issues. I have now got the mites taken care of and requeened, but they've got some catching up to do. I've heard various opinions on when to super, but most seem to be based on evaluating how much foundation has been drawn. As the comb in my brood boxes is already drawn, this isn't helpful to me. How do others estimate when to apply a honey super? Is it at a particular number of seams or frames of bees, amount of bees plus brood, something else?
For reference, I will be putting on a super of all new foundation as I am just starting out. I am located far enough into Edmonton that they are unlikely to be foraging on any farmed fields.
Thanks