The super is the space given above the brood nest for the colony to fill. What the beekeeper harvests from it is the surplus.

When to add

Before the brood chamber fills, not after. A common criterion: give new space when about three-quarters is full.

Adding too late is one of the strongest swarm triggers there is.

Full or shallow depth

• Full depth: More capacity per box, fewer handlings; very heavy when full
• Shallow: Lighter to lift, finer control; more boxes and more work

Weight is not a side issue: a full deep super is not easy for everyone to lift, and back problems are the commonest reason beekeepers stop.

Drawn comb or foundation

Drawn comb is filled immediately. Foundation costs the colony energy that then does not go into stores.

A beekeeper who builds up a stock of drawn super comb gains every year afterwards.

The queen excluder

Keeps the queen out of the supers so no brood ends up in the harvest. It costs some throughput.

Some beekeepers work without one and accept a little brood in the lowest super; then the frames must be checked at harvest.

Harvesting

The criterion is capping, not the calendar. With partly capped frames, measure the moisture content.

• Use little smoke; it carries into the aroma
• Work quickly after the flow; robbing risk
• Harvest separately by flow period and apiary

The boundary

Do not feed and do not treat with supers on. Both limits are unconditional.

Storage after the season

Drawn comb is stored cold, or spaced apart in a light, airy room — protected from wax moth and, where it occurs, from the small hive beetle.