Are you wondering when to add a super to my beehive? If so, this is the blog post for you!
Introduction
Beekeeping is an ancient and fascinating practice that requires a delicate balance between understanding the needs of your honeybee colony and providing the necessary resources for their optimal growth. One crucial aspect of beekeeping involves knowing when to add a super to my beehive. In this blog post, we will explore the factors and considerations that go into this decision, helping beekeepers make informed choices for the health and productivity of their hives.
Understanding the Super
Before delving into the when, let's clarify what a super is. A super is an additional box added to the top of the beehive to provide more space for honey storage. It consists of frames where the bees can build comb and store surplus honey, and it plays a pivotal role in ensuring the hive's strength and vitality. A shallow box is if often called a super but you can use any size box. What defines a super, is the position in the beehive. If it’s for storing honey and above the queen excluder, it’s a super.
When To Add a Super To My Beehive?
Time of Year: The timing of super addition is critical and often depends on the season. During the active nectar flow in spring and summer, bees are more likely to collect and store surplus honey. Therefore, it is advisable to add supers before or during these periods to accommodate increased honey production.
But be aware, it's not a case of just adding supers very early in the year, before the spring flows. If you add them too early it will set them back due to increased heating requirements in the hive. Add them too late and they will swarm due to restricted space in the hive.
What you are looking for is the perfect opportunity to add supers. This is generally when the bees are filling the brood box (over 80% full), they are starting to bring in pollen and nectar and night time temperatures are increasing (around 8c +). In North Wales, this generally occurs in the first 2-3 weeks of April.
Colony Strength: Observing the strength and population of your honeybee colony is essential. A strong colony with a robust workforce will fill supers more efficiently. Evaluate the number of worker bees, the brood pattern, and the overall health of the hive before deciding to add a super.
We use the 80% rule here. When the box below is covering 80% of the frames, then it’s time to add your first or subsequent super. This is very important when placing the first super. Too early means the colony won’t grow as fast. Too late and the bees will swarm. 80% is the sweet spot in the middle.
Foraging Activity: Regularly monitor foraging activity around the hive. An increase in the number of bees coming and going with pollen and nectar is a good indicator that the colony is in need of additional space for honey storage. If you are not feeding and you see cells of nectar in the brood box, this is an indication the flows have started and can be used as a trigger for adding your first super.
Weather Conditions: Consider the prevailing weather conditions in your region. Bees are more active and productive on sunny days, making it an opportune time to add supers. Avoid disturbing the hive during adverse weather, as this can stress the bees.
Hive Inspection: Conduct regular hive inspections to assess the honey storage space available. If the existing honey supers are nearing full capacity, it's time to add more to prevent overcrowding and swarming. Remember again, the 80% rule applies on the supers as well. If in doubt, give them extra space after the first super has been added.
Ones or Twos: When adding a super to a beehive, you might think it's easier to add 2 or 3 supers in one visit. If the weather is set fair and you have no other option but to only make one visit, for instance if the apiary is very far away, this approach can work. However, I would advise for the majority of beekeepers to add a single super as and when required and then use the 80% rule to keep ahead of the bees.
Never let them hit the ceiling: You must never EVER let the bees get all they way up to the roof and hit the ceiling in with a full super. It's a sure fire way to get the bees to swarm. Just keep on adding more boxes when the bees fill them with honey. If you want to learn more about how to stop bees from swarming, check out this page on my website:
https://www.blackmountainhoney.co.uk/guides/how-to-stop-bees-swarming
Foundation or Comb: If you are wondering, when do I add a super to my beehive, then you have probably also thought, should I use foundation or drawn comb in the frames. Drawn comb will always result in a greater honey yield as the bees don't have to consume honey to draw new wax. However, drawn comb does bring some challenges, especially for new beekeepers. The main challenge is that drawn comb accelerates the size of the colony very fast and involves more lifting. It makes the colony more likely to swarm in the first year.
For beginner beekeepers, foundation in the frames is perfectly fine and it actually helps slow down the colony and gives them work to do during the active swarming season. Drawing combs tends to help reduce the chance of them swarming.
Bees Aren't Doing Anything: If you have added a super and are wondering the bees aren't interested in it, then it's likely due to adding it on too early. Bees won't draw combs unless they are ready to do it and they have sufficient incoming nectar to dedicate it to drawing combs. You need to be patient in this situation. Once the colony grows to a sufficient size to cover all of the frames in the supers, they have enough warmth to start building combs and once the nectar arrives, they will be on their way.
Watch the Video: For those you prefer to watch a video, take a look at this one I filmed a couple of years ago.
Conclusion
In the intricate world of beekeeping, knowing when to add a super to your beehive requires a keen understanding of various factors. By considering the time of year, colony strength, foraging activity, weather conditions, and conducting regular hive inspections, beekeepers can make informed decisions that contribute to the overall well-being and productivity of their hives. Striking the right balance is key to fostering a harmonious relationship between the beekeeper and the bees, ensuring a thriving and sustainable apiary.
If your bees just never make it up to the super before swarming, then you have the wrong bees. Our calm, placid, Buckfast bees are bred specifically for honey production and you can replace the existing queen with one of our F1 Buckfast mated queens at any point throughout the season. Check them out below:
https://www.blackmountainhoney.co.uk/product-page/f1-buckfast-mated-queen-2024
