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Thread: Can someone tell me ....

  1. #1
    Senior Member Bridget's Avatar
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    Default Can someone tell me ....

    if you add a super with new foundation is this OK. I've seen something about drawn foundation should be used but as new beekeepers we dont have any. Also, with these good conditions, though the wind was cold this afternoon, should I be inspecting now to see if I should be adding a super. We've been told so often not to bother the bees until April, in this part of the world, but they are very busy and I am worried they will need more space soon. What is the guideline for adding a super? How many frames of brood should there be.

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    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    The weather will be freezing again in a couple of days.
    -4 predicted
    http://www.forecast.co.uk/inverness.html

    You need to look in the box to estimate colony strength.
    The rule of thumb is to add a super when there are 7 or 8 frames of brood.
    They will draw out foundation when the weather is good and there is nectar coming in.
    In bad weather they are likely to ignore it.

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    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    ...The rule of thumb is to add a super when there are 7 or 8 frames of brood. ...
    I'll remember that, Jon. I went to my 'out apiary' in a friend's garden in Aberdeen on Sunday when it was hot and sunny. I did not count the frames with brood, but I thought they were running out of space, and added a super. Now, with the weather changing again, I'm worried that I've made a mistake - that they'll struggle to keep the brood warm. For future reference, rather than having created an empty space above their heads by adding a super, should I rather have created space for them by just exchanging a few of the frames filled with honey with new ones?
    Kitta

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    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mellifera Crofter View Post
    For future reference, rather than having created an empty space above their heads by adding a super, should I rather have created space for them by just exchanging a few of the frames filled with honey with new ones?
    Kitta
    That's what I try and do before thinking about supering. I checked some of mine on monday and they were quite strong, one with 7 frames of brood and one with 5. I was tempted to super them but I took out 3 frames of stores from one and two from the other and replaced them with drawn comb. They will need supers within a couple of weeks but the forecast is for pretty cold weather next week so I decided to wait.
    I have seen some people suggest that you can put an empty super on above the crown board with the feed hole open which sounds like a sensible compromise as it gives the bees somewhere to store any excess nectar coming in.
    I have often put a super on only for it to be completely ignored for about 3 weeks which suggests that it was on too early.
    If the weather is hot I would always err on the side of caution and put the super on as cramping them is likely to induce early swarming.
    Some of the posters on the English bee forums have reported swarms already.

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    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Thanks Jon - also for the tip about using the crown board.
    Kitta

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    I have seen some people suggest that you can put an empty super on above the crown board with the feed hole open which sounds like a sensible compromise as it gives the bees somewhere to store any excess nectar coming in.
    It's a good idea, especially if the temperatures are variable and the hive is a larger one.

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    You could try a couple of sheets of newspaper instead of a crownboard between brood and super - that way they can chew through as much or as little as they need.
    Eb

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    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    That's good to know, Eb - for the reason you've mentioned and also if one doesn't have an extra crown board with a feeding hole handy. Thanks.
    K

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    Senior Member Bridget's Avatar
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    Thanks Jon for the excellent weather app. Downloaded it straight onto my iPad and it seems pretty accurate.
    Had a look yesterday at the bees. Bees over every frame, 7 frames of brood, three of stores and one (the furthest away from the entrance) was being worked on. Bees bringing in all kinds of pollen- yellow mostly but also brown, white and blue. Not sure what sort of flower or tree that is from. A neighbour said bees were working her winter flowering heather. Though the sun was out the wind was quite cool and when I propped a frame against the hive, in the shade, all the bees when into a ball so I quickly moved it into the sun.
    Saw the queen, she was on the 2nd to the front frame (cold way). So we put on a super but wish I had read the above posts first as I think we may have been better for the moment with any empty super just for space at present.
    How does a beginner work out approx how many bees there are in the hive. we started with 5 frames and about 12,000 I think. This looks the busiest we've seen it. Can one gauge by how many frames are covered?
    We had given fondant in early Jan and it was nearly finished early March so gave them a bit more and it was all gone, in 3 1/2 weeks.
    Btw - I know some of this won't be of interest to the old hands here, but as a newbie I avidly read EVERYTHING that's written here, even when I haven't a clue what it's about, so I hope there are other newbies who might be interested. :0)

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    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    A 460mm square piece of correx makes a fine crown board or even a floor if you are stuck.

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