First honey super?

[Starbuck99]

Can anyone tell me when is the best time to put my first super onto my BB?
I am guessing that a queen excluder will also be required?
There seems to be conflicting opinions on here!
Thanks

 

[psafloyd]

Can anyone tell me when is the best time to put my first super onto my BB?
I am guessing that a queen excluder will also be required?
There seems to be conflicting opinions on here!
Thanks

The simple answer is when it is needed.

If you have a brood box (BB) full of brood in all stages (BIAS) or they have stuffed the BB with stores, they clearly need somewhere to put it.

If you;re putting on drawn comb, they can fill that pretty quickly. If not, they're going to have to draw out foundation, so bear that in mind.

Tell us what your BB looks like.

 

[Cazza]

The simple answer is when it is needed.

If you have a brood box (BB) full of brood in all stages (BIAS) or they have stuffed the BB with stores, they clearly need somewhere to put it.

Tell us what your BB looks like.

Some religiously count frames of brood and super according to numbers, others (me included) look at the spread of bees and decide (comes with experience.)

Psa is right, tell us what your BB looks like.
My guess would be, super up. My Suffolk hives are bursting, most on double BB and 2 supers but yours may be much further behind.

Cazza

 

[Arfermo]

One of mine is so bursting that I have done a vertical split and it has 3 supers on it too. Others all have supers on as the OSR is bursting round here (Midlands) too.

 

[itma]

Much better to add a super too early rather than too late.

And if its foundation rather than drawn comb, it needs to be earlier.


QX. Some avoid them on principle. You don't have to make things harder for yourself.
But to get started drawing a bare box of foundation, leave the QX out for the first week, after which hopefully the bees will have got started on comb-building at the very least.

I have a very strong preference for the (admittedly more expensive) wood-framed rigid wire QXs. They make inspections (and reassembly) much less of a bother for you and the bees than the nasty cheap slotted sheets (whether metal or plastic).

 

[Starbuck99]

They all seem happy

Just finished my inspection, the BB is nice spread across!
There are two 14 x12 frames with foundation still to draw, I saw the queen she looked good.
I placed a honey super on with 10 foundation frames and a QE!
There was some very good brood present.
Happy days

 

[Arfermo]

Q/E under super I hope?

 

[enrico]

It will take a while to get going, be patient!

 

[oliver90owner]

I placed a honey super on with 10 foundation frames

Second one today. See thread below.

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28801&page=2

 

[Ben90]

Rule of thumb I use is to add a super each time the box below is filled with bees on every frame. I go by the assumption that it's better to add space early to prevent swarming behaviour than too late, as the bees typically simply ignore extra space.