superhive

Pluralsuperhives

Formssuperhives, superhiving, superhived

1. 1
   nouncountable

   An empty box set above the existing boxes of a beehive to give the colony room to expand or to store extra honey.

   Like opening an upstairs storeroom once the shelves on the ground floor are full.

   In late spring the beekeeper added a superhive to keep the growing colony from swarming.

   Each superhive can hold dozens of frames once the bees fill it with honey.

   Similarsuper

   Note

   A beekeeper's compound, built from super- and hive: the prefix says where the box goes, which is on top. It sits above the brood chambers, where the colony raises its young, so the honey the bees store in it is the surplus that beekeepers later harvest. The plural is regular, superhives, and the same word also serves as a verb for putting one on.

2. 2
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To place an empty box atop the existing boxes of a beehive, giving the colony room to grow or to store more honey.

   Like building another floor onto a shop when the lower one is packed with stock.

   Experienced keepers superhive early to prevent the colony from swarming.

   She decided to superhive the strongest hives as the clover came into bloom.

   Similarsuper

   Note

   The noun becomes a verb without changing shape, and it conjugates regularly: superhives, superhiving, superhived. It can take the hive as its object (superhive the strongest hives) or stand without one (keepers superhive early). Timing matters most. Keepers do it during a nectar flow, when the colony needs room to grow or space for the surplus honey that fills the added box.

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