Partially filled honey frames

[tillie]

I have two supers with frames partially filled with honey.  After reading some other posts, I decided to put these supers above the inner cover in each hive and see if the bees would move the honey down into the hive body.

I inspected today (it's 70 in Atlanta) for the first time in 10 days since I put the supers above the inner cover.  Not only have the bees not moved the honey - they are making more.  We don't have a current nectar flow in Atlanta, but I think they are using the powdered sugar from the three powdered sugar shakes I did over the last few weeks.

OK, so now how do I handle these extra supers with winter coming on?

Thoughts I've had:

1.  I could leave the supers there all winter - it's never cold enough for a long enough stretch that they couldn't leave the cluster and feed themselves from it.  If I did that, I suppose I'd move them back under the inner cover.

2.  I could harvest the honey and feed it back to the bees (not quite sure how to do that - I know how to harvest, just not how to feed it back - boardman feeder sitting on top of the brood frames??)

I'd love to know what you all think I should do.

Linda T, confused in Atlanta

[Finsky]

It should work if you put supers on inner cover but it didn't.

But if you put supers lowest and at night lower entrance wide open bees will lift honey up.  They move honey from cold places to the center of hive and up.

If you have upper entrance in supers, it makes boxes cooler and bee move honey. You may arrange a gap between deep and supers.

But don't put them over winter topmost. Warm air rises up and bees have cold. Uncapped honey start to ferment.

[Kathyp]

i put my extras in the freezer for now.  figured i'd feed them back in the spring, or if i get to do a split, i'll use them in that super.