Long Hive/ Lang. ??

[raosmun]

I am not sure how to stat this! Most of my hives are Langs. and am in the process of converting to all mediums. I have one long hive (4') that is set-up to accept standard Lang. medium frames. I WISH THERE WAS MORE INPUT ON LONG HIVES! Anyway; with a typical Lang. set-up empty supers are removed (is this necessary) were as in a long hive or a TBH for that matter, are empty frames or comb is revoved? After harvest I will put "wets" back on for the gals to clean-up and then tale them off in a week or so. When done I end up with two deeps or three mediums + one partial filled medium. Is it necessary to remove that last medium? As a personal thing, I do not care to open the hives up unless I think something is amiss.

Question 1; How to prep or manage a long hive going into and through winter?

Question 2; Is it necessary to remove an empty or partially full super durring the winter?

[waynesgarden]

Sorry, but I read your post three times and I don't know if you are talking about frames in a long hive or a traditional stacked Lang hive.

Perhaps you could describe the hive you are concerned about once again, leaving out references to other types for clarity.

I built a long hive this summer to accept 20 deep frames on which I will stack medium supers. There is a bit of information online about long hives. Look at Michael Bush's website, as well as Dennis Murrell. Also on this site, Barry Birkey has an article about his Urban Bee Condo.

Wayne

[Michael Bush]

>Question 1; How to prep or manage a long hive going into and through winter?

Make sure the bees are at one end and the honey is at the other.

>Question 2; Is it necessary to remove an empty or partially full super durring the winter?

Empty space does not help them in the winter. I'd pull it once it gets cold. I would not leave a full super on as they may move into the super and not come back down to work across the hive. If I had a full super on a long hive I would make sure it's at the opposite end from the cluster a the start of winter.