When to Add a Honey Super to Your Beehive
Deciding when to add a honey super to your hive is a common question among new beekeepers. Whether you are setting up a new beehive or expecting a harvest this year, supering a hive at the right time is critical. Otherwise, you can may find yourself dealing with swarming, lack of production and other problems. In this guide, I will share the key factors that you should keep in mind when wondering if now is the right time.
The rules of beehive management timelines can not be set in stone. Each colony of bees is different and location including local forage and weather plays a big role in adding or removing boxes.
Signs Its Time to Add a Honey Super
As we examine the factors involved in deciding how many boxes you need on your hive – keep in mind that each season is different. And, every colony is different.
As a longtime beekeeper, it is not unusual for me to have several hives ready to start their second honey super – while some have just begun to fill the first.
What works one year (in regards to actual month and day) may not be true for next year. That is why no one can really give you a firm calendar date for adding more room to the hive. The status of the colony (strength, population) is also a key factor.
Key Factors to Consider
Though it is important – let’s forget the calendar for just a moment. We need to look at the top 3 indicators that it might be time to add a honey super.
- bee population
- nectar flow
- percent of frames in use
Colony Population
How strong is the hive in terms of bee population? Spring is a natural time of buildup with new bees emerging everyday.
You should see busy activity at the hive entrance on warm days. Foraging bees leaving and returning in a constant flow.
Do you know how to inspect a beehive properly? Do most of the frames have bees busy at work. In a 10 frame hive (make a guesstimate) – there should be enough bees to cover most of the frame surface.
With a good brood pattern present, you know this colony is set to grow quickly. Perhaps, they are ready for a second box?
Nectar Flow – Available Forage
Honey bees collect several resources important to the colony. However, it is plant nectar that is needed to make honey. This factor is where the calendar and corresponding weather play a bigger role in your decision.
Knowledge about the local honey flow is very useful. For example, in January it is still cold here with many rainy days.
My bees will work when weather permits but they will not need much expansion space until March or April. I know this – there is no reason to add a honey super box that they will not do anything with.
Frames in Use – 80% Rule
This is one of the key guides to letting you know it is time to add another box. Beekeepers call it the old 80% rule.
If you are using 10 frame hives – when the bees are actively using 8 frames (80%) – it may be time to give them another box.
While I believe this to be the most important and realistic rule – you can not ignore the other factors. An impending time when much nectar will be available and even bees to protect the hive.
I never want to give a colony more frames (boxes) than they can protect. Too much space with too few bees is a disaster waiting to happen.
Supering a Beehive
Be sure you have a through understanding of beehive supers. These terms are sometimes used rather loosely in the beekeeping community. I will strive to make my meaning clear in this guide.
Most new colonies begin as one box (often a deep). Then, you add either another deep or a medium/shallow – giving the colony 2 boxes to make their home and store food.
The above key factors still apply as you decide when they are ready for that second box. However, in this section – I am talking about honey supers (usually shallows) that you plan to harvest from the hive.
Top or Bottom Supering
In most cases, top supering is used in apiaries. An empty box (with frames and beehive foundation) is placed on top of the highest box of the hive – directly under the inner cover and top.
A queen excluder may or may not be used between the boxes designated for the bees and those for the beekeeper.
However, some beekeepers prefer bottom supering. In this case, the new super is placed between the upper bottom box (brood nest area) and the first honey super intended for harvest.
In bottom supering, the idea is that adding a empty honey supper in the middle allows – foraging bees to not have to go as far to unload. This should help the harvest.
However, it does involve sitting those heavy top honey boxes off each time you add a super. Most beekeepers feel this is not worth the effort.
Also, some studies show that the increase in honey production is minor. But, you can choose to try what you feel works best in your apiary.
When to Add a Second Honey Super
Adding honey supers allows room for ample honey collection and eases crowding inside the beehive. This may help prevent unwanted swarms as it gives the bees room to spread out.
It is best to add 1 box at a time – in most situations (and certainly for beginner beekeepers). Inspect the hive every 10-14 days during the honey flow to check for space.
And beekeepers in some regions regularly add multiple super boxes. However, here in Small Hive Beetle South Carolina – I do not advise that you do so.
If you have a strong hive and you are going on vacation for a couple of weeks during a heavy nectar flow – it’s okay to put on 2 supers.
However, check the bees when you return to ensure they are filling out the outer frames in the bottom box that you added.
Common Mistakes in Hive Supering
Knowing when to add supers to a hive or not – and when to remove them are all important beekeeping skills. And hey, don’t beat yourself up – we all make mistakes.
Our goal is to guesstimate what our colony will need in the coming weeks. But, ultimately – we do not control the bees or the environment – sometimes we will be wrong!
- waiting too long
- adding supers too soon
- not monitoring for problems
- adding supers too late in the season
Waiting Too Long
Empty space in the hive encourages bees to forage and fill that space with food and to expand or grow the colony. What about a lack of space?
Crowded conditions (too many bees on the frames – no place to store honey – no room for the queen to lay) – all contribute to increased bee swarming due to overcrowding.
If the colony has started queen cells and is making swarm preparations, adding another super will not stop the swarm impulse.
This means you may lose a large portion of your work force at the worst time. It also cuts down on honey production for the season.
Sometimes the colony throws a prime swarm and then another and another until it swarms itself to death. Give them space when needed.
Adding Supers too Soon
While it is perfectly okay to add honey super to a hive a bit in advance of need, you must use caution. If the bees have too much room in the hive, they are unable to protect it from pests such as wax moths.
Also, the bees may decide to start placing honey up in the top box, instead of restocking some of the area in the main hive.
They need some food stores down there too. That is why I like to wait just a bit in early Spring and add my boxes only as the space is needed (80% rule).
Failure to Monitor Supers
At the least-mini hive inspections are necessary throughout the season. A quick peak in the top of the hive may tell you whether or not you should add another honey super box right now. And verify that things look to be proceeding normally.
Sometimes, bees with a lot of space like to “chimney up” and only using the inner frames. If this happens, you can rearrange frames of nectar or honey.
Move the completed frames to the outside positions and rotate empty ones to the middle. Since they only contain honey and no bee brood – this should not cause any problems for the colony.
Adding Honey Supers Too Late in the Season
In most areas, bees are not making honey during Winter. Connect with your local beekeeping association to learn more about conditions in your region.
If the time of honey production ends for you in September – there is no reason to be adding honey supers to the hive in October. Why give the bees more space to patrol if they will not need it for harvest?
When the surplus season is over for your region – it is over. A hard lesson I had to learn in my early years. I heard wonderful tales of goldenrod flowers and how bees love them. We have goldenrod and it does bloom.
After a few years of putting on honey supers in early Fall and taking them off empty a few weeks later – I learned that I am not going to have a harvest from goldenrod in my area. I let the bees use what they make for themselves 🙂
How Long Does It Take Bees to Fill a Honey Super?
This is a popular question that is almost impossible to answer due to the many variables. However, a colony with a good population can fill a shallow super in 1 – 2 weeks.
This is assuming that a strong nectar flow is on, weather conditions are great and the bees do not have to travel far to collect nectar.
Of course, it can happen much faster. This is why you should always keep an extra super box with foundation ready to go. Supplies can take a long time to arrive during the busy season.
If you give the hive a box with new foundation, it will take a bit longer for the bees to fill as they have to build wax honeycomb too.
Some beekeepers say 1 week to draw comb and 1 week to fill. These times are averages and may not apply to your situation.
Don’t expect a harvest honey for yourself the first year. However, it can and does happen in some regions with a long season of foraging.
FAQs
Depending on the beekeeping group you are with-some beekeeping terminology varies a bit. Because honey is heavy, most beekeepers use shallow sized boxes for collection.
A shallow super is about 5 ¾” in height and weighs about 40-50 pounds when filled.
Medium supers measure 6 5/8” in height. A 10-frame medium super can weigh over 60 pounds when filled with honey.
Deep supers are also called brood boxes. Due to their size, they are not commonly used for honey collection. They are 9 5/8” in height and if filled with honey can weigh over 90#.
The number of honey supers needed for each beehive varies due to colony strength and local forage conditions.
A popular rule of thumb is to have 2 honey supers per hive that you will use for your harvest. The amount of honey produced by a beehive yearly is a wide range.
Final Thoughts
In total honesty, some years you may find yourself putting honey supers on the hive and taking them off partially filled or empty. In my apiary, one colony may have 3 honey supers filled while another is still working on the first. As beekeepers, we will never make the right decision in every case. Through trial and error you will learn (in general) the best time to add another box to the hive or take one off.