Supers full of Congealed Ivy

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Joseph

House Bee
Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
110
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Location
London
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
5
My bees come through the winter fine on Ivy, however I have quite a few supers full with left overs.

What to do with them I do not know and storage till autumn would be a challenge. I do want to go on double brood this season, perhaps the bees would use Ivy as additional food to build wax?
 
Not many options are there? Extraction will destroy the comb and likely the foundation too.

Put some of it under the brood box and let them move it, hopefully using for brood and wax - not just storing it in a super! Maybe less than a lot at a time?

Regards, RAB
 
Sorry for the ignorant question RAB, but why can't you extract?
 
The honey has probably granulated and is solid in the combs and so is unextractable.

As Oliver says put it under your brood box but I would add the refinement of bruising the wax cappings with your hive tool and that will drop a big hint to them that it is for moving and cleaning up.

PH
 
steve_e,

Yep, I took 'Congealed Ivy' as granulated. It usually does and goes very hard as well.

I didn't say you could not extract it, but that it would entail likely total destruction of the comb. You could not use the normal method - a radial or tangential extractor.

Extraction would be by scraping back to the foundation rib, if possible, and separation after warming to liquify the garanulated honey.

Not really worth it in my opinion.

Regards, RAB
 
I put the frames under but they haven't used so took off. Had to cut it out, melt it in a pan with a little water to extract the wax- retained the honey as pos feed for swarms collected.

DO NOT leave to simmer whilst watching tv- I ended up with a cooker top full of honey and hardening wax. Didnt find the drawer full of the same till the next day. I have a very patient husband:eek:
 
Get a good scratcher, scrape back to the midrib and then stick the stuff in the bin. Cut out combs and replace with foundation if the whole comb is full of granulated honey.
 
Chris, is there any advantage to bruising the cappings and quickly dipping the frames in water to make the granulated honey more accessible to the bees?
 
Chris, is there any advantage to bruising the cappings and quickly dipping the frames in water to make the granulated honey more accessible to the bees?

I bruised the cappings then sprayed the whole frame with water. Any empty cells I tried to fill with water from a hand sprayer. Probably given them all a chill :nature-smiley-12:
 
I guess this is what you mean then. :( This brood frame was more or less empty and only half drawn out when I last looked at it in late autumn. There must have been a late nectar flow of something that doesn't store well? Ivy possibly?

frame of granulated honey
 
I removed three frames absolutely packed with ivy honey and put them to one side to deal with. Being forgetful (it comes with being dead!), I then left them where they were. Three (sunny and warm) days later, I went to move them and found them virtually empty, but with a goodly number of bees still on them.

I am sure the experts will point out the inherent danges of this course - including I imagine encouraging robbing - not to mention wasps. But it is one of the most successful of my absentminded events for some time!
 
lol - absent minded successes are the most satisfying aren't they?
 
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