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Rookie question
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Posted by huzzah (My Page) on Fri, Mar 31, 06 at 15:51
I opened my one year old hive for the first time this spring.
Everything looks great and queen is laying a solid pattern.
I was suprised to see so much honey still in there. It was a very warm winter here, I imagine that is one reason.
I have two deeps and I reversed them.
I noticed that some of the honey was not capped, is that normal?
Should I just leave all that honey alone?
Will the bees use it now or just save it for next winter?
I used a miticide last fall and so I would not eat it myself.
Also, I anticipate a really big honey flow. is there a limit to how many honey supers I can add to the stack? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Rookie question
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| Well I'm glad to know that I'm not the only rookie looking at this site. I was talking to a guy about bees about a month ago, he was telling me that they get some hives that they need to back their truck up to the hives to put supers on, sometimes 11 supers high. From what I have been told and read, it will depend on how you process the honey, if you want comb honey then you don't want to leave the capped honey on the hive, extracted basically no limit, but provide addition entrances. Good luck, I hope to enjoy my first honey flow with 2 hives in the next couple of weeks. |
RE: Rookie question
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| The queen has a tendency to work up, so that of course, is why the brood boxes are reversed. If the honey is uncapped, that is only normal storage for future use. I would leave it alone, the bees should cap it for later feedings, and it probably needs to mature somewhat before capping. A queen excluder can be used on top of the brood boxes before putting on supers. I like the shallower ones as I'm older and these are much lighter to handle, when lifting off and on to inspect, and hopefully, have a frame for myself. (take one that is capped and without brood in it). I can't advise you on using the honey after a miticide, as I haven't used any in my hives, so perhaps someone else can jump in here to comment. Bejay |
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