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SUPERING
<br /> 0 Honey supers should be added as needed during the supers, make sure the queen did not also move up
<br /> major nectar flow. Generally, supers are needed when and put the queen excluder back on. Check for eggs
<br /> the top deep box is about 80% used by the bees. in the supers if you are worried you may have missed
<br /> If uncertain, err on providing more space. Have the seeing her. If you see eggs above the queen excluder,
<br /> equivalent of 2 empty supers on the colonies during then you will need to find the queen and move her
<br /> the major nectar flow. The same practice applies to back into the brood boxes.
<br /> adding additional supers after the first 2 have been
<br /> added. When the top super is 80% full, add another 2 After the nectar flow, remove your honey supers
<br /> supers. from the colonies (see section on Harvesting). In
<br /> Minnesota, remove supers in mid to late August. This
<br /> Before supering, place a queen excluder over the top allows for the bees to store the remaining incoming
<br /> deep brood box. Supers containing foundation should nectar for winter and allows you to monitor and
<br /> go on top of the queen excluder(or under any supers manage the varroa mite population.
<br /> already on the colony). Supers containing already
<br /> drawn comb, if you have them, can go on top of the In the first year, a new colony may or may not
<br /> stack of other honey supers. make surplus honey. Much of their resources
<br /> (carbohydrates from nectar) are used for producing
<br /> Sometimes the bees are reluctant to move from wax combs, rather than honey. In our 3-deep system,
<br /> the brood nest into supers with foundation. If that the top box of honey will be left on the bees for the
<br /> happens, try temporarily removing the queen excluder winter. You can rest easy that the colony will have
<br /> and spraying some sugar syrup or molten beeswax sufficient honey to survive the winter and look forward
<br /> on the foundation so they are attracted to the new to harvesting honey in year 2.
<br /> box. When the bees start to draw out comb in the
<br /> •
<br /> Figure 37. A colony on a hot day with a large beard of bees.
<br /> zhill Jim/d
<br /> Biology Box
<br /> Bearding ''
<br /> _
<br /> On very hot days, sometimes you will see that a .`- �r '° ` .r
<br /> huge mass of bees is hanging outside the hive r .
<br /> entrance and on the front panels of the hive
<br /> boxes (Figure 37). It looks like your colony has xa,
<br /> grown a beard. New beekeepers worry that their , f , i r
<br /> s :.�. t
<br /> bees are about to swarm, or that something Al r , f.. s£
<br /> has gone terribly wrong. But if your bees have i. , /'° -.
<br /> plenty of space and it is a hot or muggy day, they t
<br /> are probably just "bearding,"which is perfectly ;` ,,,,,;�s ° -*.e.
<br /> t 3
<br /> normal. v- . « }
<br /> z ice :a
<br /> Some bees "beard" outside the colony so that the - ;?, ,
<br /> bees in charge of temperature control have more �{ .t 't °' A r G
<br /> room to circulate cool air by fanning their wings ;°c--' 9►,I*- 'go= ." ° ,� ;;.V ,,
<br /> and evaporating tiny droplets of water throughout * !sj , �'' * ,t .��r - A� Y%
<br /> ilthe hive. They need to maintain the correct a., �, r �� ,,,,,,, J--// , . �,
<br /> temperature for the developing brood at all times �',`_ ,f ' '"'pi �" �„,
<br /> (about 94°F). � ',_ i'
<br /> -. ,!
<br /> Beekeeping in Northern Climates 45
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