This year we have changed our methods and are -- for the first time in 20 years or more, not using queen excluders. The elevated honey price has to do with this. We figure we'll get enough more honey to justify the added nuisance and expense -- if any. Anyhow, with excluders, we would just go out at the end of June and throw on all the supers we own and go away for few weeks. Then we would go back and re-distribute them to the hives that were doing best. And then we'd start extracting and replacing them from the honey house. This year, though we've felt the need to super one box at a time, paying attention to the stage of completion of the previous box, and the population apparent both at the door and on the top bars. This requires visits with supers at intervals of a week or so, since a flow can hit at any time. I'd be interested to know what other people look for and any tricks they use to decide when to super -- as well as how many they put on at once. Does having foundation in the centre of the thirds and fourths affect that decision? With excluders, we tried to take the standards off when they were at about 50 to 55 pounds total (30 to 35 pounds net). We figure using this system, that we should allow a little more completion before pulling, maybe averaging 60 to 70 pounds total weight. We are also using an uncapper again, and do not mind if some of the honey -- or all of it for that matter -- is capped, whereas in previous years we always tried to get it before it was capped. Our main flow is usually July 20th to August 8th or so and gives 100 to 180 pounds (usually on the lower end of the range). Of course individual hives make 300 pounds plus, but the average is less. At present some hives are in four boxes and a number have filled the thirds, but not to the point where they are fat and capped. After the flow, we go back to four boxes high until the end of August, snice some years provide a flow all august, and then we usually remove the remainder of the supers and start feeding. I'd appreciate any discussion on this and imagine it would be of interest to others as well. Thanks in advance for any ideas and tips. Regards Allen W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask] Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>