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  • When to add a super?

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General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #11093  by mattbat
 07 Jun 2021, 12:47
New beekeeper looking for a bit of advice….having received a nuc (4 frames) a few weeks ago…we added these to a brood box with an additional 6 frames of foundation.

Having kept an eye on the colony, there is now lots of capped brood, eggs and larvae on the 4 frames and comb being drawn on the frames on either side of these…but we’ve noticed there is now one side of a frame (next to the 4frames of brood) which is full of capped honey (no eggs etc)….

The question is….do we add a super, given there are still frames with only foundation in?

Additionally we have apilife var treatment in the brood box ongoing.

Any help/advice greatly fully appreciated…
 #11094  by Alfred
 07 Jun 2021, 12:52
Id wait until theyre on their up and running properly.
Its been a crazy year so far- they could end up needing the stores theyve collected.
 #11095  by mattbat
 07 Jun 2021, 13:10
Thanks…we’ve already decided any honey made is for the bees this year just to ensure they overwinter and a good start into next spring.

But do we need to add a supper to allow them space for more brood?
 #11096  by Alfred
 07 Jun 2021, 14:03
When you have at least thee quarters of the first box crammed full of bees then consider it but if they haven't even drawn the foundation then theyll be a while yet Some colonies are prolific some are not ( and thats not necessarily a bad thing)
Keep an eye on them,but dont be too intrusive
Check your mite tray for drops
 #11100  by Spike
 07 Jun 2021, 21:22
They will move the honey and expand sideways, they have another 1/2 dozen frames to use, so loads of space.
 #11101  by NigelP
 08 Jun 2021, 08:09
A couple of relatively easy ways to assess space is to count the seams of bees when you open the hive. If you have 11 then they need more space.
Another (not 100%) is to see if they are trying to draw comb on the bottom of the brood frames. If they are it can suggest they are telling you they need more space.
 #11102  by Patrick
 08 Jun 2021, 08:17
As all above re supering. Without knowing how the nuc was made up, it’s still a small colony trying to build up. It’s foragers may only be able to bring in enough to feed their colleagues and brood with a bit left over. Drawing combs from foundation takes up bees and nectar.

Even if there is a bit of a flow on it may be worth giving them some syrup feed as well and move a frame of foundation from outside the one with honey in it to inside next to the brood nest to encourage them to expand. When that is drawn out, move another in and so on until you have a whole brood box of combs. Don’t go overboard with the feed, an inverted jar with a a few holes pierced in the lid over the feed hole will give them an easy and steady feed to help out.
 #11106  by mattbat
 08 Jun 2021, 13:47
Thanks for the advice…greatly appreciated!!

Given the recent weather and the size of the colony we have been feeding with sugar syrup to begin with and now with fondant to give them a helping hand.

There is a lot of eggs, capped brood and larvae which is a good sign, so hopefully the next few weeks they may ‘bulk’ out a bit.

We will move the frames outside the brood around as mentioned in the posts and see what happens.