Supering Hives

Paul Kelly, research and apiary manager, instructs how to super a bee colony.
Frequently asked questions: hbrc.ca/faq/
A descriptive transcript is available here: www.uoguelph.ca/oac/sites/uog...
For more videos, check out the University of Guelph's Honey Bee Research Centre youtube channel at this link: / @uoghoneybeeresearchce...
For more work by David Borish Visuals, check out:
www.davidborishvisuals.com/
We would like to thank Québec beekeepers Marie-Hélène Majeau and Susan Kennerknecht for translating our videos into French. We are very grateful for their help with this project. (To view translation, click on settings then subtitles)
Nous aimerions remercier deux apicultrices du Québec, Marie-Hélène Majeau et Susan Kennerknecht pour la traduction de ces vidéos en français. Nous leur en sommes très reconnaissants. (Pour accéder à la traduction française, sélectionnez paramètres et ensuite sous-titres)

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thank you to everyone for watching and supporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our list of FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS on our website, which can be found at honeybee.uoguelph.ca/videos/frequently-asked-questions/

[@AnticipatedDay]

Out of curiosity what are your hive covers made of?

[@jayanddenissejones6648]

@@AnticipatedDay I don't want to speak for Paul or UoG but this appears to be "Waterproof Canvas Fabric Outdoor 600 Denier Indoor/Outdoor Fabric". Easy to fine in most fabric stores or you can order it off Amazon! I noted they have it in KHAKI 10 yards for like $59.99 free shipping!

[@acctahmed7055]

Man Im checking you guys from Iraq this is absolutely the best channel for bees tutorials on youtube I'm really thankful for the explanations and the great videos stay bless peace out.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Peace out too Ahmed! Thanks for your generous comments from Iraq.

[@tmcuevs7988]

Thanks for the videos Paul. Very clearly explained. kudos to your camera man. Thanks to the whole team. Life is easier for us new beeks.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks tm! We appreciate your generous feedback.

[@tmcuevs7988]

hi to steph☺️

[@framcesmoore]

U do a good job teaching about bees I really enjoy your videos thank u for doing them

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are quite welcome. Thanks again Frances.

[@aaronchristman6627]

I enjoy how simple and short your videos are!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Glad you noticed Aaron! I think simple is usually better. Thanks.

[@dorothyinnes6429]

These are great videos thanks. Very clear. Learning a lot. Thanks again.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are most welcome Dorothy. Thanks for your generous comments!

[@hachimitsu5493]

You make it look so easy :)

[@carlmerkey9370]

Just can't wait to see more they are very helpful thanks

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

:)

[@brihechemohammed5286]

I really like your educative videos and I want more

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We hope to hire a videographer and do more videos next summer. We had other priorities this year. Nice to hear you enjoyed our videos.

[@bradprather6749]

again thank you! this is a wonderful education.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

:) Our pleasure.

[@troymarsh7532]

this is a great site you have thanks

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Nice to hear you like the videos. Thanks Troy.

[@ecrinoztekin7428]

hello, thanks for the great videos. After placing the second frame, we should check.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks Gustavo It never hurts to check when it comes to adding honey supers.

[@karolpikulski8091]

supporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our LIST OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS in the comment section of our "UoG's Honey Bsupporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our LIST OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS in the comment section of our "UoG's Honey Bsupporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our LIST OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS in the comment section of our "UoG's Honey Bsupporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our LIST OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS in the comment section of our "UoG's Honey B

[@George-kt6gm]

You're videos are awesome! I am going into my 2nd year beekeeping in Edmonton... I have 2 hives and I think they have over wintered ok..(still to cold here to really look) Im using a Langstroth hive but with a Warre top for ventilation... (it has insulation in it for the winter) So I can peak in to see the top of the cluster.. Do you always use just 1 deep brood box and then medium supers? It seems most folks out here use 2 brood boxes. Thanks again for the great videos!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi George S Nice to hear you appreciate the video's. We are working on a list of FAQ and managing hives in a single brood chamber is right up there near the topof the list. It's become quite common here, especially over the last twenty years. We'll be doing a video on this technique since there's so much interest. Our norm is singles but we do have some doubles as a way to keep extra brood chambers occupied. The transition to singles is easier than I would have originally thought. Food reserves may be more of an issue for you in an area with such a long cold winter. Thanks for letting me how you are overwintering your hives. Happy beekeeping.

[@thefallenone7988]

I like the notched idea

[@johnboy1236]

What are your inner covers made of ? Great video , thank you.

[@lamairepr]

Enjoy all your videos! What is that inner cover made out of? You mentioned it in another video but can’t find it. Thanks again!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Philip Thanks for your positive remarks! Please see FAQ #1 below 1. Why do we use canvas for the hive inner cover? A: We use canvas inner covers for a few reasons. They make it easy to take a quick peek in the hive, and are cheap and easy to make. They are light, the lids sit down well, less excess wax on the frame top bars, and we rarely need to scrape the inner cover. We use 18 oz (#8) canvas -otherwise known as duck. It's a bit hard to come by in Ontario, but it is available from online distributors (US: www.bigduckcanvas.com/number-8-18oz-cotton-duck-canvas.html, Canada www.jtsoutdoorfabrics.com/18oz-Cotton-Duck-Canvas-Untreated--Natural-60_p_15038.html). Bees chew through thin canvas so a heavy weight is better. We flip it over periodically when new so the bees thoroughly coat it with propolis. An alternative is a feedbag folded in half. 2. Why do we use single brood chambers? A: Our preference is to keep hives in single brood chambers. We use queen excluders above the brood chamber and then add supers. We produce bigger crops managing our hives in singles vs doubles and we find the hive management much easier. It's become quite common here, especially over the last twenty years. We will be making a video about single brood chambers soon! 3. Are our queens for sale? A: We sell some queens but don't export. To contact us about our queens, please email us at [e-mail]. Our Buckfast collaborators also sell queens: Munro Honey www.munrohoney.com/ (for CAN sales) and Ferguson Apiaries fergusonapiaries.on.ca/ (for CAN and US sales). . 4. What breed of honeybee do we use? A: We work with Buckfast bees. Check out our website if you would like to learn more about them: www.uoguelph.ca/honeybee/breeding.shtml 5. Will we be making any more videos? A: Yes! We are looking forward to creating more videos for our KZbin channel this year! Here are some of the topics we will be covering: Working with single brood chambers, indoor overwintering. 6.How do you overwinter double nucleus colonies? A: At the University of Guelph, we winter our double nucleus colonies indoors. You can also winter them outdoors by wrapping two double nucs together with insulation on the sides and top. 7. Are double nucleus colonies prone to swarming? A: With a young queen and the supers above we don't have any problem with these nucs swarming in the first year. We do have to transfer them into a full size box early enough the following spring to prevent swarming. 8. Do we add a frame of pollen or honey into a new split? A: Ideally you add both pollen and honey. Of the two, honey is the most important. 9. Where to purchase some of the products that we use: Coveralls: We really like these Dickies all cotton coveralls. www.dickies.com/coveralls-overalls/deluxe-cotton-coverall/48700.html?dwvar_48700_color=GY#start=3. We use two sided velcro to strap up the wrists and usually tuck the legs into our socks. Plastic Queen cages: Mann Lake and their Canadian distributors sell these and they are made by the French company Nicot. www.mannlakeltd.com/hair-roller-cages. I use a wooden plug on the bottom and screw it in place with a #4 screw after pre drilling. Grafting microscope: www.amscope.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=gooseneck+binocular Mini/mating nucleus boxes: Mann Lake (US) and their Canadian distributors sell these. They are originally from Europe so are widely available there. www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/queen-rearing/nuc-boxes Queen Pheromone: The pheromone strips were developed here in Canada. They are called Tempqueen and are made by Intko Supply Ltd.Suite 604, 3345 Kingsway VANCOUVER, BC, V5R 0A7 Canada [phone]. [e-mail]. Mann Lake in the US and several Canadian bee supply companies carry them. Bee belt and bulk bee box: Our apiary manager Paul Kelly manufactures the Bee Belts and bulk bee box. If you are interested in more information, please email him at [e-mail]. 10. Should you remove any queen cells in a colony before introducing a new queen in a cage? A: Yes, you should remove the queen cells. Look very carefully to make sure you don't miss one. Shake the bees off each frame to make sure you can see them all. Accepted queens are sometimes killed by virgins that emerge from queen cells. 11. Can you make a split without adding a mated queen/can a split raise their own queen? A: A split can raise their own queen (if they have eggs), but you'd be better off buying a mated or queen cell from a local bee breeder. Queens raised by a split are reared under the worst possible conditions, are physiologically inferior, and you aren't taking the opportunity to improve your hive genetics. For a number of reasons, colonies get more aggressive if we let splits raise their own queens. We always use queen cells that we have reared from breeder colonies so we can maintain and improve our genetics. Cells found in hives can be poorly reared if conditions aren't good or if you use swarm cells you are unintentionally breeding for swarming behavior. 12. How often do we check for swarm cells? A: We check for queen cells only in colonies that are stronger based on our ratings as described in our “Swarm Control” video. We only do this at the time of year bees are prone to swarming (ie just before the main summer nectar flow). In some colonies, we check twice, a week apart, if we have the time and we've found cells in them previously. We stop looking once the nectar flow gets going and the time for swarm preparation has passed. 13. How old is a queen when we replace her? A: We re-queen if a queen isn't doing well or when she is in her third year. 14. How often should you be stung to lessen the chances of developing anaphylactic reactions? A: Please speak with an allergist if you have any concerns regarding bee sting reactions. You don’t need that many stings to build an immunity and reduce your chance of developing an allergy. However, reactions can be very different from one individual to the next. For about three years after starting beekeeping you swell more in the spring when the bee season starts. After that most people don't swell up much at all. Some beekeepers apply stings through the winter to keep building immunity. 15. What do we use as candy for the queen cages? A: You can make the candy using honey and icing sugar but the candy you see in the tubes in our videos are purchased with the cages from Mann Lake beekeeping supplies and their Canadian distributors. In our province, it's not legal to use honey in queen candy if you are distributing queens. Honey can contain American Foulbrood spores. A specialized, non-drying, sugar syrup (Nulomoline invert sugar) can be used instead of the honey. In any case the candy must be made dry enough that it's crumbly. 16. How do we make pollen patties? A: The patty is made from pollen we collect using a pollen trap. We mix the pollen pellets with sugar syrup to a dough like consistency, form the patties between layers of wax paper and then keep them frozen until they are needed. They will keep for several months frozen. 17. How do we make our grafting bars? A: We cut the wood pieces and attach them to the graft bar with liquid beeswax. We then attach the cups with liquid wax. In both cases the liquid wax is applied with a syringe. Previously, we made the wax cups but now buy them from www.kelleybees.com/. 18. Do we move full honey supers to the top of the stack so the bees can fill the lower ones? A: Some beekeepers do shuffle the supers around and do what's called bottom supering. We place supers back on in the original order and only add new supers on top (top supering). That way it's easier to see when the bees need more space. The bees also ripen the honey before moving up. We sometimes harvest full lower supers and put the top ones that aren't full back on in the original order. 19. Do we ever add brood frames to the cell builder colonies to keep their populations high? A: We do add other frames of sealed brood and sometimes we shake in more young bees from brood frames to boost the hives. About once every three weeks we'll boost the hives in one way or another. 20. How do you level hive stands? A: We level the hive stands periodically with pressure treated wood shims. If the hives are already on the stands, we use a hardwood pry bar and a brick fulcrum to lift each end for shimming.

[@CavalierSpan]

Paul, Just starting as a new bee keeper and love your videos. I installed two strong 5 frame nucleus colonies this Spring. Fed them until they had a majority of the new comb drawn on the new empty foundation and added a queen excluder and one super to each. One colony got right on building new comb in the super but the other is really slow to move up with very little comb built after several weeks. They have also drawn out a full frame of capped honey in the brood box. Would you remove this frame and put in an empty frame of foundation or extract the capped honey and put the drawn comb back in for the queen to use? I don’t have any old comb to give them since I am new. Thoughts?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi This reply is too late to help but you can feed with a super on - just enough to get them started building comb.

[@michaelcosta930]

When you add additional supers, do you find it important to add them underneath the already filled supers, or do you just stick them on top of the full supers?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Michael I prefer top supering as we demonstrate in the video. Why? - Less work - better honey quality - easier to see when they need another super.

[@stonehillridge2619]

Any suggestions for first year honey supering? Specifically, I have no drawn comb for the honey supers, so how long should I wait before adding more "empty" supers?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi There That's a good topic for a video as it's a challenge until you have drawn comb. You may want to feed sugar syrup especially while drawing comb in a brood chamber if there isn't much of a nectar flow. When supering let the bees draw out and fill most of a super before adding another one. Sometimes it's helpful to put the second super under the filled super to get the bees working on the foundation. Once you have some drawn comb it helps to mix some in with foundation frames ie next year. Good luck.

[@natserog]

Thanks so much for your videos. I have always been told to have two deep brood chambers. then add medium supers which would be mine for honey. :) Are you saying to only use one deep then add honey supers? Im in Texas and winters are mild. I like the ideas of keep splitting instead of having two brood chambers? Just concerned if one brood chamber will supply enough honey for winter?? thank you! --stan

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are welcome Natserog We do winter in singles. It's quite common here. I'll do a video sometime about that as we are getting some comments and questions about singles. In short we super the colonies pretty early, avoid crowding and select breeders from colonies with a low swarming tendency. I don't know how well it would work in your location so I'd try with one hive first.Thanks .

[@mazenboumonsef6402]

Thank you for your video! I have one question: Do you put wax foundation in the frames added inside the super? or you think it'd better to put empty frames and have the bees create it fully?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We use foundation in our frames. You get better, stronger comb that way.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are welcome!

[@Zuconja]

Hi, I have a question. How do you know how much honey there is in the hive? Do you weigh them or inspect them to know when to add a super?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Iggy It takes a bit of experience after awhile but you can tell from looking down at the box how much honey is present based on what you see for wax cappings over the stored honey on each frame. Alternatively you can tip he box up from the back to get a sense of the weight.

[@michiwood6856]

Hello, I absolutely love you're videos, very well done and clear. I'm new to beekeeping so I am watching and reading everything I can just to learn more. My question is, I have two colonies and I have added supers to both. One colony does not mind the queen excluder and acts if it is not there. The other colony will not go into the super at all with it in place. They are metal excluders and I'm using 1 deep for the brood boxes. I pulled the excluder from the ones that would not use it as they were about honey bound. What can I do to get them to move through it? Thanks in advance and keep up the great informative videos.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

HI Michiwood Nice to hear you have found our videos helpful. It's tough going until you have your foundation drawn out and have comb readily available. We are filming a video in stages showng the process of drawing comb. It's the foundation that is limiting your bees movement up and not the excluder. Usually good nectar flow gets the bees moving up and drawing comb. Earlier in the year it is sometimes appropriate to feed syrup to get the comb built but I think in your case the bees will move honey up from the brood chamber into your supers and draw the comb. Good luck.

[@justincrawn812]

Are the bee’s able to fit thru the mesh screen between bottom and new super? Looks like a tight fit if so was wondering how they got into top super?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Yes worker bees can fit through the queen excluder but the queen can't.

[@weavinghedonist]

i noticed you do not use wood inner covers. what exactly are you using on these videos please??

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We are working on a FAQ list and this will definitely be #1 on the list. I like the canvas inner covers for a few reasons. Easy to take a quick peek, cheap and easy to make, light, lids sit down well, less excess wax on the frame top bars, never need to scrape the inner cover. I could go on... We'll do a video about them since we are getting so many questions. We use 18 oz (#8) canvas - otherwise known as duck. It's a bit hard to come by here but I see it's available from online distributors. Bees chew through thin canvas so a heavy weight is better. www.bigduckcanvas.com/number-8-18oz-cotton-duck-canvas.html We flip it over periodically when new so the bees thoroughly coat it with propolis. An alternative is a feedbag folded in half. Show less

[@chrisphillips5346]

All my inner covers are wood, it looks like the canvas is easier to get off. What type of canvas is used for the inner cover?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Chris We use 18 oz (#8) canvas - otherwise known as duck. It's a bit hard to come by but I see it's available from online distributors. www.bigduckcanvas.com/number-8-18oz-cotton-duck-canvas.html We flip it over periodically when new so the bees thoroughly coat it with propolis. An alternative is a feed bag folded in half.

[@terencegill1753]

should I be using a cover for the top super and I was told I don't nee a queen excluder, but should I, Thank you I am new and learning a lot from your tutorials.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Terence Queen excluders are a good idea that make a lot of things simpler. Inn beekeeping Simple = Good I'm not sure what you mean about the top cover.

[@soaringspirits2267]

Pardon me, i am new to bee keeping, and will be starting this year. I wanted to know, How long do you wait after starting a new hive, to add a super? When, and if you get this, it would be nice if you, or someone else responded because I want to be careful, and deliberate.

[@mark-ish]

Beekeeping is as much an art as it's a science. Get some help from an experienced local beekeeper. The answer you want depends a lot on what local conditions you have.

[@catherineallard340]

Hello from Québec, your super are always a 3/4 of a standard box, it is because it's to heavy to use a normal one? Great vidéos, thank you

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hello in Québec François! Yes, the deep boxes get very heavy to handle. You can lift the deeps when you are young and strong but the 3/4 boxes you can lift for a lifetime so I think they are a better investment. Nice to hear you appreciate the videos.

[@MsILISANU]

how about adding the suppers below the brood chamber? Just a Q from what I learned so far from the bees...Congrats on the precise and high speed videos

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks Razvan. Bees work up better than down in my experience.

[@MsILISANU]

Thank you for finding the time to reply in this very busy period. Lots of health to you and the bees!

[@lintonmacnamara1469]

So interesting for a warm climate beek

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Lots of differences from place to place Linton. I hope folks recognize that what works here may not work everywhere else.

[@bearbow2011]

I have a swarm I caught last july 2016 and they don't seem to be making comb as well as they should I have them in a 10 frame deep and they only have built out 5 frames there are no problems to bad with beetles I treat mites with powder sugar haven't seen any mites. doing it just as a precaution. is there any thing I can do to help build comb other than adding sugar syrup.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Adam Bees only build comb if they are getting a strong nectar flow. If that doesn't happen naturally it's best to feed them sugar syrup to help them build comb. They can't progress without comb. Your bees will have varroa mites for sure but the level may be low because the bee population hasn't built up yet. I wouldn't rely on only sugar dusting for mite control. Good luck.

[@dyllonrosshowell2575]

I've been trying to work with plastic foundation for a few years now; the bees will avoid them at all costs. How do you get your bees to work plastic so well?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Ross We use waxed plastic foundation and try not to use too much in a hive at one time. The bees build the comb when they have a good nectar flow. When you are first getting new equipment built out and have mostly new frames it helps to feed sugar syrup until the comb is drawn out.

[@mark-ish]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre many thanks. logical but well worth mentioning, thank you.

[@johnw8419]

How do you clean the queen excluders. They get really clogged with wax

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We put them in a heat chest to melt the wax off every fall. A steam chest would be even better. On a small scale I would recommend a solar melter. There are lots of plans available or they can be purchased from bee supply stores. Scraping the wax off can bend the wires and then the queens find their way through.

[@framcesmoore]

what do u use for the inner cover, i use 2 deeps for brood, is using 1 deep better thanks

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Our #1 question! We use 18 oz (#8) canvas - otherwise known as duck. It's a bit hard to come by here but I see it's available from online distributors. www.bigduckcanvas.com/number-8-18oz-cotton-duck-canvas.html We flip it over periodically when new so the bees thoroughly coat it with propolis. An alternative is a feed bag folded in half. Our #2 question! Managing single brood chamber hives is on our video to do list! Please see the comments on singles after our Feeding bees, Supering and Thorah Island videos. My preference is to keep hives in single brood chambers. Thanks Frances!

[@georgegarcia5052]

Doesn’t the canvas provide a place for hive beetles to hide?

[@Keith-xc9wf]

I was taught to have 2-3 deeps filled first before I add the first super but does it really matter? Thanks for interesting video!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Keith Please have a look at our video 'Singles vs Doubles' for our thoughts on that topic.

[@herbertjacobs8422]

Where do you get that canvas inner cover?

[@2of238]

Buy canvas in whole and cut it to the size. I’ve done the same.

[@georgegarcia5052]

Can you use an 8 frame deep as the single brood chamber? Or, using the narrow frames advocated by some beekeepers, use 9 frames in an 8 frame-box work? Thanks 🙏🏽!😃

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We've had success with 9 frames in an 8 frames box over the winter.

[@georgegarcia5052]

Thank you, but I was wondering if you can use 9 frames in an 8 frame-box during the spring/summer season as a single brood chamber (above which is a queen excluder).

[@carmendelgadoceamanos8329]

Hello Paul. Excellent videos . What race of bee do you use? You don.t wear suit, you are very lucky. Here in Spain you cannot do that because we have a very agressive bee, apis mellifera iberiensis. It is very agressive but is very resistant to deceases. Thank you for the videos.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Carmen You are very welcome. Nice to hear from you in Spain! We work with Buckfast bees. They are bred from a variety of races and low defensive behaviour is a primary selection criteria. Keld Brandstrup of Buckfast Denmark may be able to sell you some.

[@carmendelgadoceamanos8329]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre You have made a very good queen selection, Congratulations.

[@kennapop3]

I noticed you only placed nine frames in the super. I have heard this suggested but never explained. Is it for deeper honey comb?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

As you suspect the comb gets drawn out thicker. This makes it easier to uncap when extracting.

[@kennapop3]

Thank you. I'll be 67 this month bees are on my bucket list. No longer raising sheep this year, I planted five acres just for pollinators. Plan on two hives this coming spring. Buying two splits from a local beekeeper. I'm still relatively fit but I will be using all mediums. Bees in Western Illinois lots come with of extra help.

[@missile1506]

I noticed your brood box has 10 frames, but your honey super only had 9. Do you have any issues due to the uneven spacing of frames between boxes? Lots of extra burr comb, etc? I understand why you use 9, but thought you had to have the same amount of frames in each box. (newbie here.)

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi there No the different # of frames in each box doesn't create more burr comb. I really prefer 10 frames in the brood chamber. If you only have 9 you get uneven comb - fat at the top and thin where there is brood. Frames then don't fit together when you move them around in the box. Also the frames are heavier stickier and harder to handle. You know the reason for 9 in the honey supers but for those that don't -thick honey comb is easier to uncap when extracting.

[@catchemalive]

So I need to be adding honey supers in spring as soon as the nectar flow gets cranked up good?!? It’s July and I was thinking about adding a honey super but guess I’m all wrong?!?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

It's best to ask around locally what other beekeepers do. We start to add supers here in early to mid May.

[@sierrabravo7368]

When you take off the supers does that mean the bees have to live in more cramped conditions, what happens if you take all the supers off and all the bees from the hive cannot fit into the brood box?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Stephen We leave some supers on until the fall. The weather gets cooler then and the population dwindles.

[@beebob1279]

I notice you are only using single deeps. Are you overwintering in single deeps? Where are you located? By the sounds of your super timing of May you are north. How do the hives overwinter in the cold north in only one deep? What are you doing to make that work? I found your channel today and have been watching your videos.

[@paulkelly3266]

Hi Bob About 70% of the hives in Ontario, Canada are managed year round in one brood chamber. 20 years ago that would have been 15%. It's not much different than operating doubles - just a lot easier! We should do a video on that topic. Thanks for watching our videos Bob.

[@beebob1279]

Paul, Would you do a video on supering a new colony with only foundation in the honey super. This would be excellent for the new beekeepers that are out there.

[@paulkelly3266]

I'll add it to the list. That is a bit of a hurdle for new beekeepers starting with only foundation. Thanks for the suggestion Bob.

[@chickenpow122]

What is the material you use for your inner covers? Is that canvas?

[@tjinnes]

Are the frames in those supers all pre-drawn?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We didn't have much new comb to get drawn out this year so yes they were all drawn out previously. When adding new frames we usually mix them in with already drawn comb in the supers. In a good honey flow they draw them out well.

[@beemanrunning977]

Is there any reason to leave supers on the hive once they are capped? And secondly, I noticed your supers only have 9 frames. Why is that?

[@cheapsmoke4096]

so you dont haveto freeze them or store them, the bees keep them fresh and clean in the hive , and 9 frames makes the bees build the frames out alot wider and thicker and you get alot more honey , i do this also its awesome :)

[@jonathanwallace6746]

How many supers would you leave on to overwinter a single brood box hive?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

None. We winter single brood chambers in the one deep brood chamber. We filmed a video on wintering singles this fall and will try to release it this winter.

[@eliothayhow20]

In what country do you live?

[@wendybachman6224]

Hi, I'm curious as to why you're not inspecting the frames prior to supering? Is it because you already know there is drawn comb on both sides of each, and have confirmed the queen is laying in a good pattern? This is my first year of beekeeping and I have a package of Saskatraz installed 4/27, and a nuc of Caucasians installed on 5/3. I was warned I needed to ensure at least 80% of the brood box filled prior to supering.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Wendy Through experience you learn to be able to see how full each box is by looking down from the top. 80% is a good rule of thumb.

[@nathanhoffman9579]

What kind of cover do you use on top of your frames but under the top cover?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Nathan You could see information about this on our FAQ. The link is posted under each video.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You could also watch the video on our channel titled 'Our Equipment' where the inner cover is described.

[@nathanhoffman9579]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre Thank you for your reply, I found the FAQ's right after I sent the question.

[@omarabd7415]

Nise

[@panama-canada]

When you put super?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Usually we start adding supers in early to mid May.

[@Cornerstandoutdoors]

What type of inner covers are those

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

18 oz canvas. You could see our FAQ link posted under the videos for more info.

[@Stolas_live]

Instead of two medium supers can you just put a deep super on?

[@MonroevilleWatchDog]

I notice you are using single deep hives. Most of what I have read regarding making COMB honey involved taking double deeps and in one way or another, reducing them to singles. When working with singles all the time, is there a trick to making comb honey?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi there We don't do much comb honey but when we do we just pick the strongest singles and put the comb honey supers above an excluder.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

I should have mentioned that we remove any extraction supers that are on the colonies and add the comb honey supers right when our main nectar flow has started.

[@MonroevilleWatchDog]

The super gives them extra space, so that makes sense. If you know anyone who does make comb honey using your single deep methods, please pass them along. Thanks

[@floydshaman5113]

UoG Honey Bee Research Centre some say excluders hurt the workers and bring their life expectancy down? If you don't use one will you be needing to seive/filter out larva?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

As far as I'm concerned there is no debate about excluders. They make it better for bees and beekeepers alike. EVERYTHING is more complicated without them.

[@OdieO1love]

How long after catching a swarm should we inspect and consider adding supers? I have seen lots of pollen going in so i know they are happily raising brood. Also, what is your inner cover? Canvas ?? Mahalos from Maui!!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Mahalos Ode! You couldn't go by time. You'll want to check and see how full the box you caught the swarm in is. When it's at least 3/4 full of bees and comb you can start to think about adding a super. It takes awhile for swarms to build comb and build up there population. They will decrease in population for at least three week. THen the new brood will start to emerge and the population will grow. A lot a variables when you are dealing with a caught swarm. Good Luck! Oh yes, we use 18 oz canvas for inner covers. You could see our FAQ link posted under each video for more details.

[@multivitamin486]

6:02 is that a swarm on your left? P.s thanks for the video!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

No but if you watch our video 'swarm control' you'll learn more about the colony with bees hanging out in front.

[@savatv2310]

Salom

[@harrygthang7389]

I noticed in the video that you have one deep brood box and you put honey super on top of it and queen excluder in between. I really like that and I wanna apply it for my backyard beekeeping because it's simple and it's easy to manage but I noticed too that you have 2 deep boxes on top of each other so I wonder why do you have one but sometimes on the other video you have two deep? Do you have two deep because you know that you are planning to make a split so that you have more bees. Can you split the hive with only one deep? I also would like to make a request on a video about hive management (easy and simple for beekeeper) and wintering your hive please, thank you.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Harry Thanks for your inquiry. We manage most of our colonies in single brood chambers. If we have extra brood chambers we add them as second brood chambers to protect the comb from wax moth damage. The intention being to split them later. Sometimes we add a second brood chamber to make it easier to divide hives but we certainly divide singles too. We have posted 33 videos on a variety of hive management topics so you may not have seen them all. We'll try and do more videos this year too.

[@harrygthang7389]

Thank you for the reply, How do you winter your beehive in single brood box? Do you leave some honey super on top of the brood chamber? Do you leave your hive outside or you move it inside during winter months? How cold is it in your area during winter time?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Harry Our feeding bees and overwintering video answers these questions. We are in Guelph Ontario Canada.