Spare frames of honey

[steve_e]

Due to some wobbles and errors last autumn in my beekeeping I have some full frames of honey, tainted by apigard treatment and am not sure now whether to just discard them or if I should feed them back to the bees.

I have one colony that's ok at the moment but very light. I have the remains of some fondant I gave them in January which they are still taking down, and some syrup I gave them last week, but the hive still feels much lighter than my other two and I'm a little worried they may be on the edge. Should I stick a super underneath the brood box with these frames in just in case they need it or wait it out until the nectar flow increases?

They are more lively than the other two hives at the moment and I'm a bit worried this might be because they are desperate to bring more nectar in.

 

[iball]

My suggestion would be to bruise them and put them on top of the crown board. The bees will find it quickly and take it down stairs.

Ian

 

[Midland Beek]

If you bruise/scrape the combs and put them in a super above a holes open crownboard ... the bees might take the honey down, or they might not. You got to configure the frames using a bit of common sense to encourage the bees to clean them out.

Cut the combs out, mash em up a bit, and put them in an empty super above a holes open crownboard ... and they will take the honey down.

 

[steve_e]

OK, thanks both. So they won't start building wild comb rampantly in the void then?

 

[iball]

OK, thanks both. So they won't start building wild comb rampantly in the void then?

Not rampantly. Crosses fingers!!

 

[steve_e]

Thanks Ian. I've made a note and I'll hold you to that!