Why do I have to add more supers?

[J-grow]

I have 4 hives and 2 of them have supers that are almost full.  Let's say I have 8 out of the 10 frames full and capped in those two supers and 3 out of the 10 full and capped in the other 2.

Why can't I just pull the full frames and put empty ones in their place instead of adding a new super?  Harvest onezee twozee?

When I uncap and spin the frames ( harvest the honey ) can I stick that messy frame right back in the super for the bee's to clean up and rebuild?  if not what do I do with them?

Thanx thanx thanx

[apisbees]

Yea you can do it that way. put the frame back in and the bees will clean and consolidate the remaining honey and will continue to fill the comb. Most do it super at a time due to the mess and having to clean everything up after extracting. Some work it so that they only extract once during the year because of clean up or having to borrow or rent an extractor.

[J-grow]

That takes care of that ....... Thanks!

[J-grow]

Actually one follow up.  My extractor is ordered and will come in a week from today. Can I pull the full frames tomorrow and let them sit in air conditioned workshop ( honey house ) for a week and then extract them? Thanks

[lazy shooter]

Actually one follow up.  My extractor is ordered and will come in a week from today. Can I pull the full frames tomorrow and let them sit in air conditioned workshop ( honey house ) for a week and then extract them? Thanks

A fellow beekeeper put some frames inside a styrofoam cooler for a couple of days in his barn.  His thinking was the same as yours.  When he went back to the honey frames he found thousands of dead bees and a continual war ongoing with bees in his barn.  It seems there was a hole in the cooler box the handles attached to it, and the bees were squeezing through that hole and taking the honey back to their hives.  Since there were many hives close to his barn it became a battle ground to see which bee got the honey.  Learning from his experience, I would not do it.

It doesn't take long to pull the frames when you are ready to harvest.  Take an extra hive box in a wheelbarrow with a towel over it.  Remove a frame, brush the bees from the frame and place it in the hive box and cover it back up with the towel. 

lazy

Also, look up fume boards on the search button

[apisbees]

You should also keep in mind that bees need space to nipper the nectar. They store small amounts and are continually fanning ripening the nectar and as it ripens they move and consolidate the honey into cells to be capped over. Having the extra super gives the bees the space they need to preform honey ripening. At the end of the year when the honey supers are pulled the last super may not have any honey stored in it but it could have been used during the season for the ripening of honey.
When pulling and extracting frames keep in mind that the bees do need the extra space and if they do not have it in the honey super they will back fill the brood chamber and use it to for nectar storage.

[iddee]

1... The wax moths will destroy it.

2.. The SHB will destroy it.

3.. If you get VERY lucky and it's still good, cold honey will not extract. It needs to be close to 90 F. to make it flow easily.

Extract it the same day you take it off.

[apisbees]

Actually one follow up.  My extractor is ordered and will come in a week from today. Can I pull the full frames tomorrow and let them sit in air conditioned workshop ( honey house ) for a week and then extract them? Thanks

Yes you can but as lazy stated once they are out of the hive they are not protected by the bees from wax moths, Small hive Beatles, Mice. Placing the frames in a freezer will ensure any eggs of wax moths or Small hive Beatles are killed. The frames then need to be warmed back up for extracting.
As lazy pointed out It is much simpler to wait and pull the frames and extract right away. As long as they still have honey ripening space. It is a judgment call on your part.

[J-grow]

Got it ..... I will wait and yes I now understand the value of the extra space.  Thanks again

[LazyBkpr]

And, another reason not to extract a couple frames at a time, is because you have to clean the decapping tank, tools, extractor, buckets etc..   every time.    Which is why most folks wait and do it all at once. 

   Putting another super on will give you MORE drawn comb.. it is worth 3 times its weight in gold. It will also allow the bees to protect those capped frames until YOU are ready to harvest them...   But as already said, yes, you can.  Pull a frame, decap it, spin the honey out and drop it back into the hive. The bees will clean it up and start refilling it again.

[apisbees]

If you have a bug, insect, rodent, dust and contaminate proof place to extract you can cover the extractor and put lids on the uncapping trays till the next extraction. be aware that honey will crystallize and if there are crystals present that have formed from the honey extracted before it will cause the newly extracted honey to crystallize faster.

[J-grow]

Typical time to crystallize.  Weeks? Months? 80 degrees low humidity btw.  Thanks

[apisbees]

That is an impossible question to answer. The main contributing factors to crystallization is Temp. (57 deg F is optimal for fastest granulation.) The more granulated honey to act as seed will also hasten the process. The nectar of the plant the honey came from, Honey with higher % of glucose will crystallize faster than honey with lower glucose and higher fructose. To understand the crystallization process here is a link to a thread on creamed honey. Which is just controlled crystallization of honey.

http://www.worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/index.php/topic,1969.msg26290.html#msg26290

[J-grow]

Thanks for the link!  I will check it out ....