Using honey stored in old brood comb

[Panteg]

I've just done a Bailey Comb change which seems to have gone well, I have been feeding the bees to encourage them to build wax in this horrible cold weather and they are building up really strongly. As fast as the brood in the old box has emerged the cells have been filled with stores. So I now have several dirty old brood frames full of mainly Tate and Lyle Honey. Any suggestions what I do with it? Can I extract it to store and feed back to them in the Autumn, if so, how best to store it?

 

[Finman]

.

What idea is to fill new combs with dirty honey?
Honey is as dirty as combs.

 

[victor meldrew]

True and it tastes awful?
VM


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[richardbees]

= aren't you cancelling out one of the reasons for doing the Bailey Change in the first place?

I'd remove and bin the comb, wash the wood in washing soda, rinse, dry and fit new foundation.

 

[Finman]

.
Actually that honey is normal honey.
It is very usual that bees emerge from brood combs anf fill them with honey..

That honey is not more dirty than others. Combs either are dirty. They are just old.

 

[Panteg]

Sorry still confused

Sorry Finman I do not understand your response. The honey is not “dirty” but stored in the old brood combs which are old and black or as I said “dirty”. That is why I am doing a complete comb change ( a “Bailey Comb change”). The bees have built beautiful new white wax on new foundation in the new brood box. The Queen has been transferred to the new brood box and is laying well. 21 days after I moved the queen the brood in the old “dirty” brood box has now all matured and as the brood have hatched the bees have filled the empty cells with stores. I am now clearing the old brood box of bees before removing it and melting down the old comb, but the old comb is full of stores. My question is can I make use of those stores and if so how?

 

[thebhoy]

you could put a crown board over the super(s) then add the old brood box and put a few of the old frames in there.
Score the old frames with your hive tool and the bees will come up and clean it up, taking it back down into the new bb or into the super.
Once clear, add the next batch and do the same

This will quickly clean them out and give you wax to melt down.

 

[BeeJayBee]

you could put a crown board over the super(s) then add the old brood box and put a few of the old frames in there.
Score the old frames with your hive tool and the bees will come up and clean it up, taking it back down into the new bb or into the super.
Once clear, add the next batch and do the same

This will quickly clean them out and give you wax to melt down.

Or you could break up the old combs before putting them above the crown board?

 

[Finman]

.
The whole Bailey system is a stupid system. It has nothing new or odd compared to what else give new foundations ,take old combs off.

i have done this 50 years and never heard about Bailey untill this year.

It is same if you take from hive 5 old combs or 10. What does it matter.

Perhaps it seems tricky if you use only one brood box.

If you use douple brood system, it is much more flexible to renew combs.
It is essential part in beekeeping. But I could never imagine that it needs some special procedure.

 

[Arfermo]

If it was me I think I would store it until after varroa treatment end of August and then scrape the cappings and break up the comb containing honey of whetever sort and put it in a Miller/Ashforth type feeder and let the bees clean everything up and store what they want too. I do this with wax cappings too and it works treat. If any honey has crystallised, dunk it in warm water and the bees will again do the rest. Simples !!!!

 

[Finman]

Simples !!!!

If you invent more complex system, tell to us.

Listen guys. It is only honey why bees are kept for. There is no idea to "bank" it to autumn and use it as winter food. It is may now.

If you get "some honey" to the hive during summer, what heck you are going to do with honey in beehive!!!!

At least I extract them and sell.

Forget the "catch and release" tricks.

 

[Arfermo]

Finman,

His prolem was adulteration of natural honey with Tate and Lyle stuff. Clearly doesn't bother you selling unnatural honey however diluted. Shame that you should deceive your customers.

 

[Panteg]

If it was me I think I would store it until after varroa treatment end of August and then scrape the cappings and break up the comb containing honey of whetever sort and put it in a Miller/Ashforth type feeder and let the bees clean everything up and store what they want too. I do this with wax cappings too and it works treat. If any honey has crystallised, dunk it in warm water and the bees will again do the rest. Simples !!!!

Thanks Afermo, a reply that answers my question and that I can understand! I was beginning to lose faith (not the plot though, unlike some)

 

[Finman]

Finman,

His prolem was adulteration of natural honey with Tate and Lyle stuff. Clearly doesn't bother you selling unnatural honey however diluted. Shame that you should deceive your customers.

oh. I have sold 45 years carbage to my customers? Doomed by whom, Mr Bailey or some ?

I sell only naturall honey. I do not have unnatural honey.

 

[Finman]

.
By the way.
Natural system in bee hives are so that honey is allways in brood combs.
After winter colony starts brooding from very top of combs. Whe colony gets honey, brooding comes down and combs are filled with honey when bees emerge.

In natural hives there is not Bailey who changes the combs. When cells are old and dark brown, bees chew the cells off and build new combs. Same happens if combs are molded.


If you invent somethingelse, it is not natural.

 

[Arfermo]

Finman,

You are nitpicking again. An original point in this thread was what to do with frames capped honey which was derived, wholly or in part, from Tate and Lyle SUGAR syrup. You ridiculed my suggestion and said you would extract and sell it. I repeat that if you do as you say (which I doubt) then you are selling an inferior quality to your unsuspecting customers. For goodness sake try to read what is written and not go off half cocked.

 

[Finman]

Finman,

You are nitpicking again. An original point in this thread was what to do with frames capped honey which was derived, wholly or in part, from Tate and Lyle SUGAR syrup. .

ok, I did not understood that HONEY is capped sugar.

She feeded for foundation drawing and bees stored sugar to old combs.

such happens...

 

[Tom Bick]

Feeding at this time of year is a fine balancing act and should only be done sparingly as the stored syrup may not just be in the old combs but also in the new combs!!

Over feeding and you are only taking the bees away from more important work as they are having to store and process something the beekeeper does not want, the bees on the other hand happy days but when its thrown away a waste of the bees and beekeepers time.

 

[Finman]

Over feeding and you are only taking the bees away from more important work as they are having to store and process something the beekeeper does not want, the bees on the other hand happy days but when its thrown away a waste of the bees and beekeepers time.

Renewing combs may happen without any special tricks.
Now that Bailey operation leeded to many fold troubles

First:
- renew combs when it is a good flow and the hive is big size.
- outside of flow you may try one or two foundations to be build.

- If it is spring, let the colony to concentrate to build up. Don't push them to do anything else.