keer a super on or take it away?

[stavros]

I am a little perplexed by the behavior of a strong hive of mine and would like to ask your opinion about how to proceed. Few weeks ago I harvested 3 supers of capped honey (100 pounds) and then put the wet supers under the inner cover for the bees to dry them out. They did so in a week, and I pulled them off without smoking. A week ago I harvested another 4 super frames from the hive, and I left the wet frames on a super, along with a boardman feeder, inside the super, on top of the inner cover. I checked tonight to pull the 4 frames out, and I noticed that (a) as soon as I opened the outer cover, I heard a loud buzz, an unhappy sound, (b) the 4 frames where still full of bees, (c) the bees were feisty and (d) they had not taken much syrup from the boardman feeder.

Currently, the hive looks like:

Outer cover
1 super with 4 frames and boardman feeder
Inner cover
1 super with some brood and very little honey
2 deeps.

The question is this: should I leave 2 supers on the hive, to possibly fill them up in the fall? Or should I smoke the bees off the second super, and take it and the boardman feeder way?

What do you recommend? Thanks a lot,

Stavros

[Ben Brewcat]

How come you're feeding at the same time as trying to empty out comb? Seems just as likely they'd store the syrup in the frames you want clean. Anyway if the frames are cleaned off, shake the bees off 'em and store. If they're not, stop feeding until they are empty and then shake the bees off them and store.

Do they have much in the way of stores in the colony proper? It kinda depends on your flows. If there's a big one coming up AND they already have socked away a good start at winter stores, keep supers on for a little more surplus. Since you've already gotten 100#, I'd probably eschew the supers and let them build up stores on any remaining flows.

[stavros]

Dear Ben,
You are right--I pulled off the extra super, and noticed that the bees had just started to put in nectar and pollen in it. Once you pointed it out, it makes no sense to leave some wet frames on the hive next to a boardman feeder, because they'll start filling them up. Well, I learnt this now, no real harm done.
Still learning! Thanks a lot,
Stavros
PS: The bees were not feisty today; I think they were simply pretecting their nectar the other day.

[stavros]

Dear Ben,
I consulted with a seasoned beekeeper in Atlanta, and he checked the wet supers in his hives in Atlanta. He found that in 3 out his 4 hives the wet supers
that he left in early July were 80% filled and partially capped. His explanation is that if there is some nectar flow, the bees will fill drawn supers. So, we must have some small nectar flow in Atlanta. So, I added a second super to my hive, and will be checking from time to time to see if they are filling it or not, and if SHB may become a problem. A small nectar flow in the middle of the summer? Great news, considering that this hive has already made 110 pounds of honey.
Thanks a lot,
Stavros