We have snow hitting some of the western areas of Virginia tonight and it looks like the temps around Richmond, Virginia will drop into the lower 30’s over the next couple of days. This marks the beginning of Winter for this year. I feel pretty good because I have confirmed the following on all hives (with one exception – a hive at Pop’s, which is another story):

• Good or Great weight (honey stores)
• Strong brood patterns through last weekend
• Evidence of a Queen (I am satisfied with finding larva)
• Entrance reducer (both to keep the draft out and the mice out)
• Ventilation chuck (more on this one in a future post)
• Leveled and with a brick on the top
• at least 8 inches off of the ground

What have I not done?

• About half of my hives are on screened bottom boards (I am still not sure whether SBB’s are worth it or not). I have not put the plastic board on any of these hives (beneath the screen) to fully seal them
• I have not reduced all of my hives to just the brood chamber (1 Deep and 1 Medium)

The last point is what prompted this post, as I continue to get emails/newsletters from various Honey Bee resources recommending to remove all extra supers before Winter. I think the primary reason to remove the extra supers is the space. You are making the bees patrol/cover an area that is too large for them. I suppose this makes it possible that they will need more resources to stay warm or that you are increasing the risk pests will get to the sections that the bees cannot adequately cover.

But, for the time being, I am not going to remove my extra supers that still have honey (capped or otherwise). Effectively, I harvested honey in September (after letting the bees clean these, I have removed them from the hives). Everything that was left was consolidated into a super or two above the brood nest. For example, I have one hive with 2 Deeps, 1 Medium and 1 Shallow. If all goes well, I will not have to mess with them. But, if I have a hive that needs a boost, I’ll take it from these guys (and a couple of other hives that I have with more resources then that need.) I might regret this, but for now I am not taking the general advice on extra supers.