fermenting in frames question

[Cuckmere couple]

did first inspection today and one colony had an outermost frame withe uncapped stores which were bubbling up which i took to suggest fermentation

there were 2-3 frames of stores between this frame and nest which were still capped

normal to have uncapped fermenting like this?
will they sort out or should i?

thanks as ever for help....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Uncapped stores will ferment - honey is hygroscopic, so even if it had a low water content to start with, as it absorbs water from the atmoshpere it could ferment.

 

[Erichalfbee]

did first inspection today and one colony had an outermost frame withe uncapped stores which were bubbling up which i took to suggest fermentation

there were 2-3 frames of stores between this frame and nest which were still capped

normal to have uncapped fermenting like this?
will they sort out or should i?

thanks as ever for help....

I would take it out and rinse the stores out then you have a drawn climb to put back next time you're in.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Uncapped stores will ferment - honey is hygroscopic, so even if it had a low water content to start with, as it absorbs water from the atmoshpere it could ferment.

Surprising it has absorbed water in such a dry Winter.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Did you feed late in the year so that the bees were unable to dry and cap the honey before winter?

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Surprising it has absorbed water in such a dry Winter.

That's why bees cap it if they can.

 

[Ian123]

Surprising it has absorbed water in such a dry Winter.

Are you joking!! Frames not covered in bees or at the extremity of the hive often suffer.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Are you joking!!

Maybe just a little

 

[Antipodes]

Are you joking!! Frames not covered in bees or at the extremity of the hive often suffer.

Hi Ian,

I wonder, do capped frames also suffer from this? I recently noticed capped honey in a small and dying colony had a much higher water content than capped honey in an adjacent much stronger colony.

 

[Ian123]

Hi Ian,

I wonder, do capped frames also suffer from this? I recently noticed capped honey in a small and dying colony had a much higher water content than capped honey in an adjacent much stronger colony.

Yes and I think it was mentioned by others in another thread recently. Got to say like mould you only really see it on unoccupied grimes or parts of the hive.

 

[Cuckmere couple]

interesting all of you, thanks very much

 

[psafloyd]

I have been thinking on a similar problem.
I was preparing to remove the last of my honey last September when my old man went into hospital. He has been in and out ever since, but I lost my harvest in one Apiary because I had to go away for more than a week. But in the other, I had a stack that were protected.
However, with his ongoing illness and then lockdown I hadn't got back to it over winter. Now a couple of the supers have fermented what I think is uncapped stores.
If the rest is OK, I may save it for mead or beer, but that will be quite a bit of honey, still...