Here is another good list for beekeepers:
Just before putting on your supers you'll want to check your hives to make sure that you have a laying queen and that everything looks ok. You should have both hive bodies mostly filled with brood and some honey and pollen. Avoid opening up the hive to look at the brood area unless you suspect a management problem.
Weak colonies should be combined with stronger colonies or requeened.
How do you know if the honeyflow is "on"?
? Fresh white wax is on the edges of drawn comb or top bars.
? Wax foundation is quickly drawn out
? Bees are fanning at the entrance
? Bees are extremely active at the entrance - they are coming, and going like crazy
? You can smell it - the odor in the apiary is incredible - it smells sweet, like honey
? Bees are docile and easy to work
If you have supers with drawn comb put on more than one at a time, this encourages the bees to bring in more honey and gives them more room to let the honey dehumidify. However, if you put on too many at a time the bees will "chimney" or just go up the middle and fill out only the center combs. You can encourage them to fill out the whole super by taking the full center frames and exchanging them for the outside frames - move the outside frames in the inside frames out - voila!
Since bees are hoarders, the more space you give them, the more bees will go out to collect nectar.
If you are using supers with new foundation then just put on one at a time and keep 10 frames in the supers. When the super is almost full move your outside frames inside and add your next super.
Make sure to mark any comb honey supers or frames so you don't extract them. Best to paint these supers a different color or paint a stripe on each side.
Move your full supers to the top and your newer supers lower (just above the queen excluder).
Keep supers on the hive until they are capped with beeswax (have a layer of beeswax covering the honey).
Jim
Quote from: sawdstmakr on May 17, 2016, 12:26:43 PM
If you are using supers with new foundation then just put on one at a time and keep 10 frames in the supers. When the super is almost full move your outside frames inside and add your next super.
For me Jim, I think it is too much work to undersuper. I put my new supers on top and pull the two frames in the center up to the center of the new box. The rest of what you listed I am all in favor.
Another great list! Thank you.
Thanks so much for this. I am fixing to super soon. Maybe next month but the flow is off for me right now.