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Hives have been out in the country. Both have had second supers added. Both have drawn comb and honey in the new supers. Both are being fed about a gallon of syrup a week.

What should I look for in terms of having sufficient honey stores for hive survival?

And I would love to harvest a frame or two of honey for personal use but do not want to compromise the bees.

How about some descriptive feedback!

David

You didn't say how many full frames of honey you have in the 2nd supers.
If the supers are almost full you may need to add another super for the fall flow!

I try to leave the girls two full supers for overwintering.
That may be more than needed but, I would rather they have more than needed than starve in late winter/early spring.
Of course it depends on how strong the hives are.

Last year I added a spacer and placed dry sugar on top of newspaper over the top bars in case they needed something extra. They overwintered great, had a super of honey coming into spring!

You could remove a few frames and freeze them, if the fall flow is good you can keep them for personal use. If the flow is bad, thaw the frames and put back in the hives. Or wait till the flow is over, then check the honey stores for a few extra frames for personal use.

Don't forget to do mite counts and add Fumigilin-B to their syrup!

Everyone has an opinion, this one is mine!
Norma

They are both about half full. Ten frame supers.