A honey super is a part of a commercial beehive that is used to collect honey. The most common variety is the super with a depth of 6⅝ inches in the length and width dimensions of a Langstroth hive.
A honey super consists of a box in which 8-10 frames are hung. Western honeybees collect nectar and store the processed nectar in honeycomb, which they build on the frames. When the honeycomb is full, the bees will cap the comb with beeswax.
Beekeepers will take the full honey supers and extract the honey. Periods when there is an abundant nectar source available and bees are quickly bringing back the nectar, are called a honey flow. During a honey flow, beekeepers may put several honey supers onto a hive so the bees have enough storage space.
Honey supers are removed in the fall when the honey is extracted and before the hive is winterized.
Read more about Honey Super: Langstroth Hive Dimensions
Famous quotes containing the word honey:
“Y’know the trouble with us is, we’ve both got the same disease—money, and happy ways of spending it.”
—Mark Hanna, and Nathan Hertz. Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers)