Ready to extract ?

[boywonder]

Hi all ... I am on the cusp of extracting my first ever crop. This 'early season' honey will invariably contain a high proportion of OSR, and I have been following other threads where people are advocating taking frames off before they have been capped (once the OSR fields are green / once they pass the 'shake test'). However, I do not want a lack of patience to ruin the honey ... But nor do I - by the same token - want to end up with honey crystalised in the comb.

Below is a picture of a typical super frame. I have 18 frames across 2 supers which are in a similar state. The outside has been capped (in the last week or so), whilst the inside looks liquid - or has, in places, cells that do not appear to be full of nectar.

I'd be interested to know what you'd advise. Thanks kindly.

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[oliver90owner]

Cells full of nectar are clearly not suitable for extraction - they would simply fail the shake test anyway. If they easily pass the shake test the sensible thing is to extract those frames.

18 frames? Are you using only 9 frames per super? Doesn't look like that to me.

With the single colony, you have to make a decision for yourself as to if/when to extract all or some of the frames. OSR will granulate in the comb if left long enough - of that there is little doubt.

Bees will not cap cells in two situations, principally - either they are not full or they may be needing to consume those stores in the near future.

Your call. But do take into account their immediate. And near future needs. No stores can mean starvation.

 

[boywonder]

Thanks oliver90owner. I take that as a 'qualified' yes. I will ensure shake tested ... I was just nervous about the bit in the middle. They seem to be keeping this open on both supers.

I take the related point about their needs ... But, in my judgment, they'll be just fine, as they are on 14x12, and there also appear to be plenty of stores in the brood box.

Yes, there are 9 frames (on castellated spacers) in each. The picture does not do justice to the 'fatness' of the frame. They are fully drawn, and each super is bl**dy heavy.

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[oliver90owner]

There lies a different problem. You may not have thought why shallows are generally used as honey supers. There is more than the most obvious one of weightvwhen full.

 

[mbc]

Looks nicely ready to harvest if each frame looks like the one in the photo, very unlikely to be unripe honey in a frame that looks like that, top corners are often the last part of the frame my bees seem to get ready.

 

[YorkshireBees]

One of the supers I weighed into the extraction room yesterday was just over 19kg full and 8kg after extraction!

Yes they get very heavy!

imho that frame will be fine if it passes the shake test. I personally have extracted some frames that were not capped at all after they passed the shake test and then I tested with a refractometer and everything extracted so far has been well below the required water content!

Some of the most capped frames had a fair amount of crystallisation !!!