It was time to add a new super to my beehives today. A super is the box full of frames that make up the beehive. Each of the boxes for my hives holds 8 wooden frames that I have inserted wax foundation into. The bees will make their honeycomb on the foundation and use it for rearing new bees and storing honey.
If I didn’t add new frames and left the bees with just one super, they would very likely quickly get crowded and swarm, leaving the hive in search of a new, roomier home.
I was pretty excited to try out my new bee suit today. It’s nearly impenetrable to bees and made me much more confident while working with the hives.
First I blew some smoke into the front of the hives. The smoke cause the bees to behave in a predictable way- basically, it causes them to start eating honey as quickly as possible rather than going after the beekeeper.
Then I removed the outer cover.
Next I puffed some smoke into the hive through the hole in the inside cover and removed it, exposing the frames.
After checking to be sure that the bees have drawn comb on most of the frames in the first box, I brushed the bees out of the way with my bee brush and placed the second box on top of the first.
The boxes are only held in place by gravity. I always thought they would lock together some how but they don’t. You really have to be careful when walking around the hives that you don’t knock into them and cause all kinds of havoc.
Once the new super was in place I put the inside cover on top of it and used my bee brush to encourage the bees to get out of the way of the incoming outside cover.
Then I fed the bees and moved on to the next hive.
Remember Tosh, the sweet young man from the horse farm up the road that rescued us when we were snowed in this winter? He came over the other day and mowed the pastures for me. They look so lovely now.
In other farm news, Ethel, one of our laying hens has gone broody. We don’t have a rooster, so all of her time sitting on a clutch of eggs would be for naught, except that my friend Amy brought over some fertilized eggs for us to slip under Ethel. Chickens aren’t too particular about who’s eggs they sit on, so if all goes according to plan, we should have some farm-hatched baby chicks around here in a little under a month.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I love learning about things like the beekeeping. I wonder why they don’t make the hive boxes click together somehow– seems like a good idea.
Love the freckle-nosed photo.
There is so much to know around the farm! All that info about the sheep, chickens and bees….your brain has to be growing to know all those facts! I am truly impressed with your knowledge and love reading your blogs. And the picture of the land, barn and house after the mowing belongs in Better Homes and Gardens (or whatever is the best magazine for farms!
Sooo cool and interesting! Thank you again for taking us on this journey with you!
I can’t yell you how much I enjoy reading your blog posts! I have learned SO much from you! I envy you sometimes, but know myself well enough to know I couldn’t handle all you do. You’re a true inspiration!
Hey Susan, are you still doing the Huffington Post gig? I know you have a shortage of things to do in any given day. That bee thing looks so interesting, who knew? I know I have mentioned this before, but I want to thank you again for your blog, your view point and your enthusiasm! Looking to see if you have posted to your blog is one of the first things I do each morning! Thanks
Um, Ethel? That sittin’ on eggs thing? You’re doin’ it wrong.
S’posed to be sittin’ ON ‘em.
Just sayin’…
HOLY SMOKES!!! After the delight in learning about proper beekeeping, those shots of the farm could never depict a more idyllic place of springtime beauty and pastoral bliss!
Congratulations on your marvelous, well-earned, life.
I wish I could be you for a day (except for the bee part, that scares the beejeebees out of me!)
Love learning about your beekeeping. Is there a reason, other than decorative, for the copper tops to the hives?
Nice paint job on the hives! They must’ve been well primed.
leslie u made me laugh!
great job with the bees susan! wow i’d for sure think some sort of lock together box would be a nice safety feature on the hive.
great photos as always
and the pasture and everything looks just wonderful
Gosh! What a lovely picture of the farm from the field. I love the house in the background, the barn, the goats. Can I come and live with you? I’m not afraid of bees, either!
poor ethel, hope she has chicks soon! (what a great hen name!) so …. no stings? cool. lovely pasture pics
It looks like we have the same hives but I didn’t paint mine as they are cypress. I hope I haven’t made a terrible mistake! Your farm looks beautiful!
Thanks! I’m not sure about the cypress. I would have preferred not to paint mine but the instructions were adamant!
How..how do you know that these eggs are fertilized?
My friend Amy has multiple roosters and just hatched out some of her eggs. I think when you have a rooster it’s just assumed that at least some will be fertilized.
I’m glad you’re sharing your beekeeping adventures — someday when I have more time and a larger plot of land, it’s something I’d love to try! (And chickens. I want chickens, too. But right now, I’m lucky I manage to grow my flowers and my herbs!)