Summer Update #1 - Honey Harvest

Well it took a few years but we finally got a decent honey harvest.  On July 9th we pulled off the Supers that were on Mary & Myrina; a Medium Super each.  Neither was completely drawn or filled.  About 8 frames out of each with only most of them fully drawn.  There were a few Deep frames to.

We were able to borrow back the same extractor we used in 2008 when we first spun honey.  A hand crank job that fits 4 Deep frames tangentially.  We tried using a capping knife for the first time.  Warmed it up on a hot plate before using it on a frame.  It didn't do that great so we went back to the capping fork.  The knife cut off a lot of wax & cooled down too quickly.  Though it was extremely sharp!  The neighbor lent us her capping bucket too.

Uncapping a Deep Frame

Last time we used a pot to collect the honey.  Fortunately I started brewing beer in January.  So this time we used my 6.5 gallon bottling bucket that has a spout.  Also different was the strainer.  Last time we used the 600 micron mesh and were left with very fine wax particles in the honey.  This time we nested the 200 micron mesh into the 600.  The honey came out perfectly clear.  Although it took Forever to pass through the strainers.

Outside at the Spinning Party

In all we got 4.5 gallons of honey.  Not the greatest haul but we're very happy with it.  After the first year of eating honey EVERY DAY we couldn't stop so had to buy honey when the bees didn't deliver.  Now we have a good supply of our own honey and it's as good as can be.  The main source here is Tulip Poplar & Black Locust.  The honey has a very fragrant woodland taste to it.  It's not pure sweet either, plenty of flavor, which I like.

The bottling didn't go as planned.  I thought the spout on the beer bucket would be great but it was to narrow.  The honey was too thick to flow quickly; like 30 minutes to fill a pint jar!!!  So I ladled it.  Which is fine.  The kids got another spoon to lick clean.

Filling a pint jar

There are many people i want to give honey to but we don't have enough for everyone.  Fortunately we didn't promise anything.  A good bit went to family, dear friends, and helpers though. 

I think the main reason the bees didn't make more honey was the screwy main flow.  The Poplars always bloom at once by the millions.  That, of course, draws all the bees to the trees.  This year the trees bloomed Almost singularly.  One would pop then another later on.  It lasted longer but nothing ever got the bees motors running.  The bees would instead concentrate on some non-major flow sources.  Also those darn Queen Excluders.  I thought clipping the sides would help, and it did, but not enough.  Lets see what I come up with next year.  Hopefully I've learned my lesson but I can be a bit thick.

Not the most but definitely the Best!

After all the fun one super and all the equipment were left out for the bees to rob clean.  Wow! was that crazy.  Two days of, "Don't go outside!".  It was a great show though.  At the time i had 8 colonies and my neighbor had 5.  That's a bunch of bees.

Nom nom nom nom...

Next year I hope to have four hives to put Supers on.  If its a decent year we could end up with more then we can eat for once.  Awww Yeah!...

* ____________________________________________________________*

Honey Harvest 2009

No I'm not joking. Earlier this year i set out a Swarm trap; Nuc, pheromone, & one capped honey Deep frame. I had placed one extra honey frame in the freezer in case I needed it. And there it stayed. The Wife found it tonight while cleaning out the freezer. A whole deep frame of capped honey. That's it. My entire honey harvest for 2009.

Well I don't believe this requires an extractor (Ha ha) so I used the Mash method. I've not done this before so it would be an experiment. Cut the comb into a pan and mash to a pulp. Pour into strainer and place on top of large saucepan. For a handful of frames I would prefer this method to spinning. Much less equipment.

So now the honey mash sits draining into a pot. Tomorrow I'll jar it. Should be 2 lbs. worth. Plus I have another wad of wax. Which will be added to the bur comb wad and processed. There might be several ounces of the stuff now. Cool.

A little honey & a little wax

Now let me look a gift horse in the mouth. The honey is what I call brood honey. Coming from a brood frame the honey gets made in cells used for brood rearing. To me it gains a distinct off flavor being in the presence of cocoons and what-not. However, we will definitely use it. Most likely in cooking than in tea.

I suppose I could use it on the bees. I don't remember which hive it came from but neither hive had AFB or EFB this year or last.

Emergency honey collection

So I've decided to remove all the old honey supers because of the wax moth infection. Today I removed the remaining three supers. Two on Mary & one on Myrina. I spun what honey they had and pulled the wax. 43 lbs of honey & roughly 48 oz of wax. Thirty frames & three supers on the burn pile for tonight. I don't like that wax moth larva pupate in wood. I know freezing solves that but these frames are seriously old with many wax moth scars on them as is. It's time for them to go.
I had not planned to take the honey in these frames till the end of September. I fear the moth will only get farther into the hives and do more damage. Right now the damage is minimal & I'd like to keep it that way. I don't think any larva have pupated yet. There's no silk that I see yet either. Some frames are filled with capped honey. Some are about a quarter filled. Several Are totally empty. So it's take the honey that's here and be done with it.
As usual it's family fun day when we spin Honey. Had to deal with the occasional wax moth larva. They were quickly dispatched. My family spins Honey like they pick strawberries. One for you, two for me, one for you two for me... Plus the neighbors came over to help as well. It's amazing that I keep any honey at all.I noticed in Mary though that the bees were acting very odd. When I knocked the bees off of the frame they formed bee balls on the ground instead of flying back to the hive. Not for a few minutes but for the rest of the day into the night. Plus when I smoked the bees on top of the hive they did not retreat back into the hive. Instead they flowed, like water, over the edge of the hive. They bearded along the edge but eventually fell off. Grouping up with the other bees already on the ground. They're all under the hive now. Even as I brushed them off into the hive they 'flowed' over the top.
When I did Myrina every bee I brushed off a frame immediately flew back into the hive. They never formed a ball outside at all.
I have the feeling that there may not be a Queen in Mary.

To finish up I put a new honey super on Mary. Now each hive has two hive bodies and one honey super each. I'd like the girls to have an extra super of honey to get through the Winter with. As with all the frame i've replaced this year I use the coated plasticell in a wood frame. I wonder if that hinders the wax moth since there's no midrib to burrow through?