# how much honey do they need for winter?



## NeilV (Nov 18, 2006)

What do you mean by "super" and "honey super"? IOW, what sizes are those boxes, deep, medium or shallow?


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## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

From one of the New York state beekeepers associations/clubs, list of things "to do" for September:

• _"Harvest honey crop. Be sure to leave at least 60-90 lbs for winter"._
http://www.catskillbees.org/calendar.html

I would try to get more specific information from any one of the NY. beekeeping organizations. > http://www.masterbeekeeper.org/resources/beegroups.htm


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## Walliebee (Nov 17, 2006)

I'm not sure as to what configuration you have set up on the hives, but it seems to me that you should leave the filled supers for your bees. If you do some searching on the forum dealing with winter losses, winter feeding, Mountain Camp Method, you will see that it is quite common for beeks not to leave enough honey on their hives to make it through the winter.


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## Jeff G (May 12, 2010)

If you were like me and had 2 deeps and a honey super that is full on top of them, I took the honey now. This will give them a few weeks to work on the golden rod flow and I plan on feeding in october if there is not enough stores by then. Most of my advisers do not recomend leaving a honey super because it is too much room for the bees to manage over winter. But everybody has different ideas. Good luck.


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## PerryBee (Dec 3, 2007)

Jeff

I am curious about the advice that "leaving a honey super on leaves too much room for the bees to manage over winter". I at one time thought that bees were better off having just enough space to "keep warm" as well, but I am now hearing that bees do not keep a "space or area" warm but only the cluster itself. 
To that end I am trying a new approach. Over the course of this past summer any hives that I saw becoming crowded, I removed two frames of capped honey from the outer sides and replaced them with frames of foundation near the center of the brood chamber for the bees to draw out and the queen to lay in. I have been able to store about 5 boxes of deeps with fully capped honey. I will go through my hives towards the end of Oct. and any that are light will get a few of these frames dropped in or in the case of any that are really light I will simply drop an entire box on top (making them 3 deep). 
I will be interested in following this thread to see if I have screwed up!

Perry


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

Before you leave that super of honey on like some suggested....cost out the cost of feed first.
If that super is 50 pounds of honey at say bulk price of about $1.40...Then is syrup is about $26.00 per 100 pounds....price here for 64%....you are better off to feed. Our other supplier is $29.00 -$30.00 per 100 pounds of 67%. That is if i did the conversion of litres price to pound price correctly. By the litre it is $82 per 100 litres.

Take the honey now, leave what is in the brood chamber and feed right now so they have enough time to process the syrup...dry it down. Get 5-7 gallons in to them, depending on how heavy the hive is. We use 67% HFCS or sucrose which is equivalent to 2:1 ratio
If you get 5 gallons into them and they have honey in the brood chamber already, that should be enough for your winter.
We are north of you and colder. We left what was in the chambers this year...85% are top brood chamber full of honey and right now they are taking in 2.5 gallons and we hope to on Monday-Wednesday next week to top off the pails.
If you feed now, and get the proper amount now, you will be good until early spring when you can check the stores.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

I winter my bees in 2 deeps and a medium...same as what you have now. What you should do depends on how heavy the broodnest is. As the hives are now...they should weigh about 150-155 pounds. You can weigh with a bathroom scale. If you want to take the honey supers off, they weight for 2 hive bodies should be 140. If your hive is close to 140 then take the supers and feed 2:1 sucrose syrup until target weight is reached..1 gallon for every 10 pounds light. That should give the bees enough stores to make it to late March or April. No need for mid-winter checks or dumping sugar on their heads...ala Mountaincamp. Feed what they need before the end of September...and feed them all they need at once. If it's no where near...like 100-110, then I would leave the super on.


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## Jeff G (May 12, 2010)

Michael, Your doing 8 frames correct? If that is right, then 2 deeps and a medium 8 is just a little over 2 deep 10s? I also think we all have to look at the lenght of our winters in our respective areas. Here in central Ohio if I asked our bee club members, I don't know of anyone over wintering in anything more than 2 deeps and some are going with a deep and a medium. But then again that is here. I'm just new at this and have one hive that is going to over winter with 2 deep 8s and a shallow, one with 2 deep 8s, and one with 1 deep 8 and a medium that I tried to get to put up a shallow but wouldn't, and one 2 deep 9s. For me it is just the way it worked out. The golden rod is just bustin right now and I hope will continue for a few week, then I plan on feeding for a couple of weeks and hope they all survive.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

No, I have 10 frame equipment.


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## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

I think many missed the actual question.



pkumpon said:


> How can we be sure that what they have stored below in the two supers is enough to survive the winter?


The answer is "look." You should see brood frames drawn out pretty fat this time of year with capped honey. I also "tip" weigh to see how heavy it is. If it is light or you don't see the hive packed out with honey you better get the feed on and/or decide if you really want to take the honey that is in the super. Right now you are hitting the edge of getting them set for feed for the winter. Good luck.


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