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Subject:
From:
"Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 4 Oct 1994 03:11:18 EDT
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>Chris Conroy asks about putting empty supers back on bees for overwintering
 
   The operative principle is that you do not want bees to have to heat empty
space during cold weather, therefore we do not want any empty space above the
bees.
   You might want to put the super back on briefly, while it is still warm
enough for them to finish up the unripe honey, probably they will carry it
down. But be sure to take it off before real cold sets in.
   A super full of honey would be no problem, as bees will cluster on   it
and the honey helps hold the heat. Be sure to remove the excluder, if you do
this, because the queen needs to move up with the cluster to keep from
freezing.
   If you have only one brood box, or if the bees are mostly in the upper of
two brood boxes, you should start feeding right away. Heft the back of the
hive to check weight. Bees will need 50 or 60 pounds of honey or syrup to get
through the worst of the winter. The best hives may need still more in the
spring when they rev up their brood rearing.

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