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hive-got-bees

New Bee
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Sep 19, 2011
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London
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It's my first year, I've got one full super I can extract, but can't do so till 8 October. I haven't treated with Api-guard yet. Should I:

(a) Clear the super now, take it off and store the frames at home till extraction date, then I can begin treating the hive. If so, is that too long to store them? Could the honey crystallise?

(b) Leave it on till a few days b4 extraction. But then have I left it too late to treat the hive?

And in the meantime, should I be feeding? I've already fed a couple of kilos of sugar in a litre of water over the last week, but from what I've read, Autumn feeding is usually done after extraction and treatment. Does it matter I'm doing it now? Shall I continue? (Last inspection a couple of weeks ago showed a brood box almost devoid of stores, but I am leaving on one full super for the winter)

Thank you!!!
 
I'd remove the super and store it ... assuming it's not OSR and therefore rock hard already. Start Apiguard ASAP and feed simultaneously. Apiguard needs a temp of 15 degrees to work over the month of treatment. The danger is it'll be too cold to treat effectively and you'll carry a high Varroa level over into the winter.

Probably make sure you use oxalic acid in mid-winter as well.

Others will be along with different views in a little while ;)
 
I'd take the super off now and put your apiguard on asap. The honey will be fine stored until your planned extraction date (just make sure it is wasp / bee / rodent proof where you store it).
You can feed when the apiguard is on - I'd be doing that now too.
 
If it were me I would take the super off now. I guess most people will have started treating by now, mine are in third week. I think Oct is a bit late. Also you will taint your honey if you treat with super on, also if you are feeding with super on you may have sugar stored with your honey.
 
I agree with other tg=hat you should get the super off asap and start treatment and feeding if necessary. However another question arises from your comment that you have already started feeding. Was your super capped before you started feeding? If not, then there is a high probability that your honey will be sugar syrup adulterated and should not be sold as honey!
 
The later you leave it, the less effective the treatment is likely to be. (Less vapourisation in colder weather.)

And you need to get the honey harvest off before treatment, or feeding.


But if there wasn't much stores in the Brood Box two weeks ago (and the weather having been a bit iffy), you might find you have less of a harvest than you were hoping for ... though if your bees have been finding good stuff despite the weather, your harvest might have a bit of an ivy flavour.

If you want a harvest for yourself (rather than as bee-food), I think you need to collect it, asap.
 
Thank you all for your very helpful replies. They're pretty unanimous- I'll start clearing the super tomorrow and start treatment asap! But don't worry dclewis- the comb was capped before I started feeding so it should be OK (and I don't intend to sell it anyway- it's my first ever harvest of honey so I'll be trying to enjoy it myself before friends and family get too much off me!)
 

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