At 09:03 AM 7/21/97 -0400, you wrote: >I have a couple of questions about supering for honey extraction. This >is >my first season, having installed bees in April. > >I only purchased and assembled 2 (medium) honey supers over 2 deep >bodies. At this point, the bees have capped every frame in one of the >supers. The second super seems to be about 1/3 capped but every >frame is fully drawn and has lots of nectar in it. > >I live in Central Massachusetts > >Questions: > >1. Do the bees need an extra super? If so, how soon? Yes I would put another on immeaditly. I'm not sure >when the peek >honey flow is here, and didn't know if the honey production will drop >off quickly soon >or if it will continue for a while longer. Do the bees need more room? >The hive population >seems to be very high, each frame covered. They could probably use another brood chamber to keep swarming from happening. > >2. Can capped frames be removed and replaced with new foundation? Yes If >so, can the >capped frames be stored so that extraction can be done at a later time? I wouldn't store them moore than 4 or 5 days. > >3. How much honey should be left in the hive for the bees to overwinter? > That depends on how your winters are. I overwinter in 2 brood chambers due to some very cold wind chill temp, at times it gets 30 to 50 below 0. > >Thanks for the advice. >