don't know any tricks, but that's not too shabby if you started with four frame nucs on new equipment last year.
i think the bees sense the trail off of nectar and pollen availability, and respond by slowing down on brood rearing and wax making, adjusting population/stores to maintenance levels with the intention of getting prepared for overwintering.
with a single deep and two supers it's possible to extract one super after spring and give the empty comb back to get filled up in the fall. then you can extract another super and still leave them one for winter.
i think the bees sense the trail off of nectar and pollen availability, and respond by slowing down on brood rearing and wax making, adjusting population/stores to maintenance levels with the intention of getting prepared for overwintering.
with a single deep and two supers it's possible to extract one super after spring and give the empty comb back to get filled up in the fall. then you can extract another super and still leave them one for winter.