»How Much Space Do Bees Need – When to Add Super – How to Add Super«
Adding supers to your hive and the timing is critical. You can do this in a number of different ways though a lot of people put more supers on than they need to.
Putting many supers in a small hive comes with negative effects since the cavity the bees are going to be working in is going to be bigger than they are suited for. Once the brood box is full, add your super. If you open the box up and you have got 100 of the frames filled, it is highly likely that the outer two frames are going to be honey. That‘s just the way that bees set up their nests so they have honey on the outer edges. When you notice that your bees are not moving up into the super, know that there is not enough bees in the colony to get them up to the super.
Procedure
The best way to get the bees moving up into the super is to use drawn comb.
They much prefer drawn comb to foundation so if you have drawn comb, use it all and if you have none, try to get a piece or two in the middle of the box and that will help attract the bees up.
Requirements
Put a super early with like the rule of thumb. Get a piece of drawn comb and place it in the middle of your super and by using the hoofman style frames, ensure the spacing is correct and place in hive.
When you notice bees in the super, place another super and that way ensuring that the cavity that you are creating is fit for the bees and that‘s the optimum way of managing your bees. Do not let the bees reach the top of the hive.