A 'super' is a box added to the upper portion of a beehive designed specifically for the storage of surplus honey. Situated above the main brood chamber where the colony lives and raises young, the super provides the necessary volume for bees to store nectar that beekeepers eventually harvest.
The term "super" is short for "superstructure," referring to the boxes stacked on top of the hive body. While the lower boxes serve as the colony's nursery, the super acts as the "pantry" for excess production, ensuring the harvestable honey remains separate from the developing bees.
The Structural Role of the Super
Vertical Integration
In a standard beehive, components are stacked vertically. The foundation is the bottom board, followed by the hive bodies (brood chambers), and finally the supers.
The Process of 'Supering'
Beekeepers engage in "supering" by adding these boxes to the hive as the season progresses. This practice is essential for preventing overcrowding and giving the bees a designated area to deposit new nectar flows.
Internal Components
Framework for Honey
A super is not simply an empty container; it holds suspended rectangular frames. These frames, usually numbering 8 or 10 per box, support the beeswax comb where the honey is actually capped and stored.
Variable Sizes
While the function remains consistent, the physical depth of a super can vary. Beekeepers may use boxes of different heights depending on the weight of the honey they expect to lift or the specific configuration of their apiary.
Critical Considerations and Trade-offs
The Risk of Cross-Contamination
A major challenge in managing supers is keeping the queen bee out of them. If the queen enters a super, she may lay eggs in the frames intended for honey, complicating the harvest and mixing brood with food stores.
The Role of the Queen Excluder
To mitigate this risk, beekeepers often utilize a queen excluder. This is a wire grid placed between the brood nest and the first super. The grid openings are sized to allow worker bees to pass through with nectar but are too small for the larger queen to traverse, effectively confining her to the lower boxes.
Making the Right Choice for Your Goal
When managing your hive setup, understanding the function of the super allows you to control the colony's output.
- If your primary focus is pure honey harvest: Utilize a queen excluder beneath your supers to ensure the frames remain free of brood and contain only clean, harvestable honey.
- If your primary focus is rapid colony expansion: Monitor your supers closely; adding them too slowly can limit storage space, while adding them too quickly without enough bees to patrol them can leave the space vulnerable to pests.
By properly managing the division between the brood chamber and the super, you convert a biological colony into a productive agricultural unit.
Summary Table:
| Feature | Description | Key Function |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Box added to the upper portion of a hive | Storage space for surplus honey |
| Placement | Above the brood chamber | Separates brood from harvestable food |
| Internal Setup | 8 or 10 suspended frames | Supports beeswax comb for nectar storage |
| Essential Tool | Queen Excluder | Prevents queen from laying eggs in honey supers |
| Management | Supering (stacking boxes) | Prevents overcrowding and encourages nectar collection |
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