Maximizing Honey Production: The Art of Supering Bee Hives in Beekeeping

It seems like you might be referring to "supering" in beekeeping.

In beekeeping terminology, "supering" is the process of adding additional boxes (called supers) to a beehive to provide extra space for bees to store honey.

This is typically done during the honey flow season when bees are actively collecting nectar and producing honey.

Supering Hives and learning when to add additional boxes allows the beekeeper to harvest surplus honey while ensuring that the bees have enough space to store their food reserves.

honey super box opened

Here's a basic overview of the honey supering process:


  1. Assess the hive: Before supering, the beekeeper should inspect the hive to determine if the bees need additional space and is 80% full. Signs that the hive may require more room include crowded conditions, bees congregating at the hive entrance, or the presence of capped honeycombs in existing supers.
  2. Add supers: Only if the hive requires more space and or the bottom box is populated, the beekeeper adds one or more supers on top of the existing hive boxes. These supers contain frames where the bees will build honeycomb and store honey. Some add excluder at this time to keep the queen below, I do not, I allow my queen space to go where she chooses but I check to be sure she does not need extra room.
  3. Monitor the hive: After supering, the beekeeper should continue to monitor the hive regularly to ensure that the bees are filling the supers with honey and that the colony remains healthy. Once the honey super reaches 80% full only then add another. Many make the mistake to add too many empty boxes....the Queen decides if a swarm is imminent, you need to keep her happy and cozy.
  4. Harvest honey: Once the supers are filled with capped honeycombs, the beekeeper can harvest the surplus honey. To determine if you have extra honey, remove the honey super and lift the brood chamber, if the brood box is very heavy, you have surplus honey. Harvesting, This process typically involves removing the frames from the honey supers, extracting the honey, and returning the empty frames to the hive for the bees to clean and refill. Be sure to reduce the entrances as the smell could induce robbing from other hives, especially in the fall months.

Supering is an essential part of beekeeping practice to ensure that the bees have enough space to store honey and maintain a healthy colony.

By providing adequate space during the honey flow season, beekeepers can maximise honey /colony production while supporting the well-being of their bees.

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