Bees very slow to cap honey

[user 3509]

We inspected this afternoon only to find that the bees are very slow to cap the honey in the supers. The frames are filling nicely but the bees just don't seem to be making any attempt to cap it and if you lift a frame out it just drips out. Could it be that as we are in full flow at the moment with lime trees in flower and lots of bramble that the foragers are bringing the nectar back too fast for the hive bees to keep up with the capping? My husband is getting very impatient - he wants the honey!!!!

 

[ratcatcher]

the first thing to learn with keeping bees is

patience

lol

 

[YorkshireBees]

We inspected this afternoon only to find that the bees are very slow to cap the honey in the supers. The frames are filling nicely but the bees just don't seem to be making any attempt to cap it and if you lift a frame out it just drips out. Could it be that as we are in full flow at the moment with lime trees in flower and lots of bramble that the foragers are bringing the nectar back too fast for the hive bees to keep up with the capping? My husband is getting very impatient - he wants the honey!!!!

They are not capping it as it is NOT honey yet but still nectar!

There are 2 criteria that are required generally before bees will cap the comb:-

1. Water content is reduced below approx 18%
2. The cell is full

 

[Finman]

Could it be that as we are in full flow at the moment with lime trees in flower and lots of bramble that the foragers are bringing the nectar back too fast for the hive bees to keep up with the capping? My husband is getting very impatient - he wants the honey!!!!

Take care that hive has plenty of free comb area where bees spread nectar to dry up. It takes its own time when they reduce water.

Beeks have strange expectations how bees should work.

They are not bringing too fast. First bees make combs fat and then they start to cap cells.

 

[REDWOOD]

the first thing to learn with keeping bees is

patience

lol

+1

Never found in a man

 

[oliver90owner]

Apart from the obvious - that this is not yet honey and that cells may not yet be filled, there is one more reason for non-capping by the bees. That is when they might well need to uncap it shortly; they are more clever than to carry out unnecessary work!

 

[Moggett]

Finman makes a good point. Ensure they have an unfilled super to move the nectar about.

 

[user 6228]

ripening honey takes a vast amount of energy .... So it can take time... especially if the nectar is more dilute