Wrapping hives to keep them warm in the Winter, as well as, adding extra ventilation for air flow – both can be overdone. At the end of the day, however, most beekeeping practices ultimately come down to personal experimentation, preference, and budget.Like most aspects of managing honey bees, there must be a balance in hive ventilation. If you want more room for brood production, use a deep hive body. If you want to handle something lighter, use shallow supers. If you're looking to get more honey, use medium supers for honey production. These are perfect for a beekeeper on a budget or one who is just starting out. The Economy Grade has the same precise fit as the Select and Commercial grades, but layered knots or knots with splits are allowed in the final product.The Commercial Grade allows knots where they occur, but none will be present in the joints or rabbets.The Select Grade is the most sought after due to very few small, tight knots allowed.Dadant offers them painted and assembled as well as unassembled supers in a variety of wood grades. Most of our supers are made from durable Ponderosa pine, and each board has been moisture-metered before cutting to assure proper moisture content and prevent warping. Medium supers also have interchangeable frames, which makes them easier to manage during inspections.Ĭommercial beekeepers tend to use only medium supers, while hobbyists use the ones they prefer. While deep supers can weigh up to 80 lbs., medium supers are much lighter, with a maximum weight of 60 lbs. However, medium supers as brood chambers have increased in popularity. With greater volume, hives require less boxes, which means the beekeeper spends less money on boxes. Because the box and frames are bigger, the queen can lay eggs more efficiently and easily because there is more comb compared to the others. If you’re looking for a hive body, beekeepers have traditionally used deep supers. Bees will have a head start with the leftover products. When harvesting honey, be sure to not spill honey on the bee yard, or robbing bees will try to take honey from your hive.Īfter removing them, you can replace it with a super from which you have previously harvested honey. at its heaviest, thus making it easier to transport from the hive to your honey harvesting area. However, a shallow super is lighter than a medium frame, being a maximum of 30-40 lbs. A medium super uses medium frames, which means you will have more honey crop compared to a shallow super. Brood Productionįor additional honey production, you can place either a medium or shallow super on top of your hive body. If you choose this option, these require shallow frames (5 3/8"). Shallow supers are the lightest option for a beekeeper to use as a honey super. Be sure to use medium frames (6 1/4") if you choose this option. Dadant offers them both assembled and unassembled. This makes medium supers your most flexible option, because they can be used as either a honey super or a brood chamber. Recently, some beekeepers have been switching from deep hives to medium supers as brood chambers. Make sure you use deep wood frames (9 1/8") if you choose this option. These are available both assembled and unassembled.
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