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thorn

Drone Bee
Joined
Sep 11, 2009
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An Essex boy stranded in Leeds
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National
Number of Hives
It varies.
I harvested in mid August. One hive gave me one super of capped honey plus several frames from the next (of three) supers. There were quite a few frames which were full or almost full, but largely uncapped.
At the beginning of September I found that there were more capped frames than I had originally taken, so I took a second harvest.
Today, there are nearly three full and capped supers, and they're still bringing nectar in. I'd given them a super of undrawn foundation two weeks ago. They've drawn it and are starting to fill it. Would you take honey this late in the season?
A lot of what they're bringing in is from the HB, and I fear that they'll be ivy in the mix.
I will, of course, leave them with a large proportion but feel that they've far more than they need.
 
That's far more than they need for winter, and the fact they've drawn a full super shows they've got a strong flow on, so I'd say go for it.

Just be careful that they have enough room in the hive once you remove the supers, you need to make sure they still have enough room for not only any nectar they're bringing in but also for the bees if the colony is still large.
 
Fill your boots and thank them for their hard work. We have less Balsam these days but I've seen me taking supers off around Sept/Oct in the past.
 
I will, of course, leave them with a large proportion but feel that they've far more than they need.

Are you using single Nationals, or doubles? If they have a full box above the brood, that should be plenty for their needs - and, its'easy to remove a frame or two in the Spring if it really is surplus to requirements. My experience is that they'll use it to expand on though, so, it's wise to leave more than they need so you don't have to feed fondant.
Mine usually overwinter in double Langstroths (poly) so they have plenty of room to grow in the spring.
Anything more than a double must be surplus and you can safely remove that.
 
Suck it and see ... then you can decide if you want it and leave it for the bees if you don't.
 
What are folk using for varroa killing if they are taking supers off this late or are they just on top of it all the time?
 
Mate of mine will probably be bringing in the last at start of October, conditions demand I suppose. You should see the Balsam that he has access to.
 
What are folk using for varroa killing if they are taking supers off this late or are they just on top of it all the time?
I try to get the varroa levels down before the balsam flow starts. I usually use MAQS on production colonies with supers on for harvesting. Maybe Apiguard on smaller colonies, or if supers are for winter feed. Oxalic on any brood break earlier in the summer and oxalic early January.

That's usually how it goes but treatments generally depend on varroa levels and colony size.
 
I try to get the varroa levels down before the balsam flow starts. I usually use MAQS on production colonies with supers on for harvesting. Maybe Apiguard on smaller colonies, or if supers are for winter feed. Oxalic on any brood break earlier in the summer and oxalic early January.

That's usually how it goes but treatments generally depend on varroa levels and colony size.

Balsam continues straight from bramble here. It doesn't always yield and it's impossible to predict. Yes MAQS is the answer but I won't use it. Cheers.
 
Balsam continues straight from bramble here. It doesn't always yield and it's impossible to predict. Yes MAQS is the answer but I won't use it. Cheers.
Balsam need lots of moisture in the ground - shallow roots and all that. It's our main flow here, but some years aren't great if it's too dry. This year has been ideal weather with lots of showers, sunny spells and reasonable warmth. The bees started working it mid-July and are still on it. It started early this year and I'm surprised it's still going. I need more supers! Bees produce a nice honey from it - clear, runny, fruity and it doesn't crystallize quickly. They seem to over-winter on it quite well too.

I understand why people don't want to use MAQS, but I don't have issues with it (touch wood). I only use it on larger colonies that have plenty of room and ventilation. I'll always consider putting another super on if I'm going to use it to give the bees more room than they would normally need. If I can get away with using something else, I do.
 
Would you take honey this late in the season?
A lot of what they're bringing in is from the HB, and I fear that they'll be ivy in the mix.
I will, of course, leave them with a large proportion but feel that they've far more than they need.

Yes. I still have supers on that I'll take when the colonies reduce in size (and they're fully capped). I think there's another couple of weeks left in the balsam and if the weather is kind to the bees there will be bit more nectar coming in.

I usually leave them with one full super and good stores in the brood box, everything else I find is surplus and I extract.
 
If it is contaminated with Ivy, just label it as containing beneficial bollocks etc & sell it at twice the price to the Gym babes and health nuts. :sifone:
 
If it is contaminated with Ivy, just label it as containing beneficial bollocks etc & sell it at twice the price to the Gym babes and health nuts. :sifone:

One of our association members took an ivy crop a few years ago and stored it for a couple of years. He put the resulting honey into a blind tasting at one of our meetings and it came out top for flavour, as judged by the twenty-odd beekeepers at the meeting.

Chefs love ivy honey because its flavour is quite robust, so they need less to produce the same effect in their dishes.

CVB
 

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