Flow Super during Winter

Beekeeping - Basics Wintering your Flow Hive
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I live in Eastern North Carolina and don’t have extended periods of 30 degree weather. On and off temperature swings. In the past I have removed my super during the winter and stored it. Should I keep doing this or leave them on the hive? Thanks

2

Definitely take them off, for many good reasons:

  1. You don’t want to remove the queen excluder, because in late spring the queen may well start laying in the Flow super. That makes a big mess. If you leave the QE on the hive, the cluster may move up into the Flow super, leaving the queen in the brood boxes to freeze on her own… :cry:
  2. Honey in the super may crystallize over winter, making the next harvest difficult or impossible
  3. Bees tend to put propolis over everything in late summer and fall, and that will gum up the Flow mechanism

So keep doing what have been doing. If you are worried about stores for them over winter, you can run the hive with double deep brood boxes, or with one deep and a medium. I would imagine that most beekeepers in your area would do that anyway. :wink:

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Thanks for your help!

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