If you are new to beekeeping, you may wonder what a super is. This is a common name in the venture. 

A super is a box or boxes placed on top of a hive to collect surplus honey from the colony and holds 8-10 frames of honeycomb. A hive usually starts with a single super. A second one is added when the first is about 70-80% full in that order. Adding supers on a hive is known as supering. The boxes also help to create space in the hive to ease congestion or overcrowding. Congestion triggers swarming in colonies.  

Supers are mainly medium or shallow boxes though they can be any size of box you want. When it is full of honey, it is quite heavy to lift. Beekeepers prefer to lift or carry smaller supers. Bees can, however, use any size of the box presented to them. When a super is full and capped, beekeepers remove and extract honey. Supers are removed at the end of fall when bees are ready to winterize. Additional space in the hives gives the bees more space to attend to, clean up, defend, and maintain. 

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How many frames should you choose for your super?

This entirely depends on the beekeeper. Some prefer to use eight or nine frames in a 10-frame super or seven in an eight-frame super. With greater spacing between frames, bees have been observed to draw out wider combs than when the frames are very closely spaced. Surprisingly, the buzzing creatures can pack more honey while using nine frames than ten full frames due to the wider comb. Wider combs on the frames carry more honey. They extend beyond the edges of the wooden frames, making even uncapping the wax seals easier during extraction. Bees are also able to build a consistent width comb. 

How do l store supers that are not in use?

Supers are added and removed depending on the seasons. When not in use, you should ensure to store them properly. Before storing them, you should clean them and dry them well. Proceed to keep them in a place they cannot be accessed by pests, mice, and wax moths. 

What is the difference between a super and a brood box?

A brood box is used by the queen to lay eggs and raise brood(new bees). This is where the bees also store their food reserves. A super is used by bees to store surplus honey. A super and brood box is usually separated by a queen excluder to restrain the queen in the brood chamber. If she accesses the honey supers, she can lay eggs in the honey stores. It is gross to have honey mixed with brood. 

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When is the best time to add a super in your hive?

A beekeeper can add as many super as the bees can fill. They are added on top of the brood box. The first super should be added when the brood box is full of brood, honey, and pollen( 8 out of 10 frames). They are mainly added when the honey flow is heavy to give bees space to store honey and reduce overcrowding. This usually depends on the nectar flow of your region. Adding a super too late increases the chances of a bee colony to swarm. Adding too early makes the bees work unnecessarily hard to control the internal temperature. They will also have a lot of space to protect themselves from predators and other critters.