Time to Put On Honey Supers

[William F Abell Jr]

I live in the mountains near Lexington VA 24450 new USDA plant zone 6B or 7A. I have 3 hives that I installed 4 pound packages in last May. They are each in 2 mediums. I left all the honey and in lifting the boxes in November I would estimate about 30-35# each. But I may have made a mistake thinking that they might starve because I was not going to be available for a couple of months I put 2 sugar bricks on the top bars of the top box in each hive. We have had a mild winter with a ton of rain. Now I am back and we had 2 days of 60 degrees. The bees are flying and the hives seem to be full of bees and stores so much that they are clinging to the underside of the inner cover and doing that chaining action that I think means they want to build more comb. Should I put another medium (it is all I have) on without foundation and let them have at it with comb? I know it is going to get colder and I am afraid they will move the cluster up into that 3rd box and then starve despite all the honey and sugar in the bottom 2 boxes. Or should I just do nothing. What advice can you give me? Thanks in advance.

Bill     

[iddee]

Place the super under the other two. Move at least one drawn comb frame down into it as a guide.

[BMAC]

are they starting to build white comb on top bars of the frames?

If not I wouldn't give them foundation right now.   You might be just a little early for supering yet.  Maybe give them another drawn box to help expand your brood nest to make a healthy split in another month.

[BrentX]

Sounds like you have healthy robust hives, and may be well positioned for the flow when it arrives.

I am just a half zone north of you, and there is nothing for the bees to gather here just yet.  I doubt the bees would build much comb with the up and down weather and just sugar to eat.  Up here I would wait on adding another super.  We are watching the maples closely here, they may bust out soon (earlier than normal).  Once that happens, then the spring build up is on.  Once you have a flow then adding a super may be a good move. Like BMAC said you may be in line for an early split, which would be sweet.

[jajtiii]

I would not do anything to your hives right now. Check them (by that, I mean open and look at every frame, one by one) again towards the end of February or early March, when we get a day above 50.

The bees are not building anything right now in Virginia. They are not going to swarm (if there's a drone out there, he wasn't born in the last couple of months...).

You should contact these folks and go to their meeting on Feb 6 (I was surprised to find that there was no group in Lexington, but these guys are not that far):

http://www.virginiabeekeepers.org/content/botetourt-beekeepers-association

They will be beekeepers with lots of experience who are keeping bees in your area. They will also be very happy to give you advice and chat your ear off about bees (all beekeepers typically do.)

[Hemlock]

Do what jajtiii said.  He's in Richmond & i'm near Appomattox and it's too early to add boxes right now. Inspect them now and again mid February then again at the beginning of March.  There are likely some maples that are blooming near you and the bees are getting what they can out of it.  

ABSOLUTELY contact that bee club this weekend!

Plus, you'll want more brood boxes on those hives before you add Honey Supers.  

[William F Abell Jr]

Thanks to all for the advice. I think I will wait until the trees start budding up. Shouldn't be too long. The long range forecast for here is pretty good-but who knows. Anyway I thought what I would do is once the trees start swelling and budding is put another medium on each hive with some drawn comb and see if they build up enough that I can get a split in at least one of them which would be helpful to the finances. Boy with the increasing costs of everything, beekeeping at least for me is going to have to be done very carefully and conservatively. Which means keeping a watch full eye on the bees I have. I did contact the Botetourt County bee club.
One other question-do you recommend 2 or 3 mediums for the brood nest-I only have 8 frame mediums.  
Semper fi to you BMAC.
Thanks again
Bill

[Hemlock]

The people i know who run eight frame mediums use three to four boxes for the brood nest.  Mostly four.

[allenm49]

put my supers on to day