New Bee Keeper

[EZBees]

Just getting started with Three Hives in the Eagleville, TN area. I got my hive bodies and supers from the Amish in Lawrence County and my frames and foundations from Kelly. My bees came from a bee keeper in Nashville and I got established about Mid April. I do have a question: What is better, two hive bodies per hive or a super on top of one hive body. I have seen both and would like to know/understand the pros and cons.

[Live Oak]

Welcome to the forum EZ. I got my woodware from Mose Zook as well. He does real nice work. I am using the slotted top bar wax foundation frames from Kelly. They are a bit more work to assemble but MUCH better quality frames and the bees really like the bees wax foundation.

This is just my personal view on your question. As a rule, my goal is to establish at least 2 brood boxes and 1 honey super that belongs to the bees. Anything else on top of that belongs to me at harvest time. This year I am experimenting with adding a 3rd brood box to determine if the queen will establish an even larger population. I can always do a split if the 3 brood box experiment does not work out to any added benefit.

I have 10 bee packages that I recently installed and once they draw out the comb on 8 of the frames I will add the 2nd brood box. Again as a rule, I do not take any honey from a first year established hive. My goal is to establish the largest and healthiest as well as plentiful stocked hive as possible to get them going into the Fall and Winter as healthy as possible.

If you are not already, you may want to feed the new bee package hives sugar syrup treated with Honey Bee Healthy or Pro Bee Health. This has had a very positive and productive effect on my bees. Really stimulates their feeding and I suspect that SHB's and varoa mites don't like the smell or something in the HBH. An even added benefit.

[KQ6AR]

Welcome, from the west coast

[EZBees]

Welcome to the forum EZ. I got my woodware from Mose Zook as well. He does real nice work. I am using the slotted top bar wax foundation frames from Kelly. They are a bit more work to assemble but MUCH better quality frames and the bees really like the bees wax foundation.

This is just my personal view on your question. As a rule, my goal is to establish at least 2 brood boxes and 1 honey super that belongs to the bees. Anything else on top of that belongs to me at harvest time. This year I am experimenting with adding a 3rd brood box to determine if the queen will establish an even larger population. I can always do a split if the 3 brood box experiment does not work out to any added benefit.

I have 10 bee packages that I recently installed and once they draw out the comb on 8 of the frames I will add the 2nd brood box. Again as a rule, I do not take any honey from a first year established hive. My goal is to establish the largest and healthiest as well as plentiful stocked hive as possible to get them going into the Fall and Winter as healthy as possible.

If you are not already, you may want to feed the new bee package hives sugar syrup treated with Honey Bee Healthy or Pro Bee Health. This has had a very positive and productive effect on my bees. Really stimulates their feeding and I suspect that SHB's and varoa mites don't like the smell or something in the HBH. An even added benefit.

Thanks, I have been feeding them a sugar/water (1/1) mix. I will look into the Health. Do you use 9 or 10 frames? Mine seems awfully crowded with 10 frames. I have had an ant problem on the top of my inner cover on one hive. The gentlemen I bought them from told me to spread salt on the inner cover, which I did yesterday...will see how it works.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Welcome!