- In the southern half of the nation, the honey flow will continue into early June and then begin tapering off in mid-June, fully ending by late June. For the first half of June, continue adding honey supers when the existing super becomes 75% full of honey. For northern states, your nectar flow is just getting started. Follow the tips in the May issue for adding and maintaining supers in early nectar flow.
- When the major nectar-producing plants in your area begin dying, that is a signal that the honey flow is coming to an end. Your hive will also bring in less nectar.
- Bees typically cap honey once it is cured, but there are several scenarios where the honey may be cured but not capped. To see if uncapped honey is ready to harvest, simply hold the frame of honey horizontally over your hive and shake it vigorously. Uncured honey will rain out of the cells. Cured honey will not come out at all, or only a few drips can be shaken out. If that is the case, the honey is ready to harvest.
- There are many methods to remove bees from your supers once the honey flow ends and you are ready to harvest. A popular, quick, and easy method is a fume board. Other methods include using a bee brush or blowing with a bee blower or leaf blower. Bee escapes are still available but not recommended for areas that have issues with small hive beetles since they take so long to work. Smoking the hive extensively is also not recommended, as oversmoking is not very effective and can give the honey a smoky flavor. Remember to extract your honey right away after harvesting. Storing honey supers for several hours or days gives small hive beetles a chance to ruin your crop. Sometimes hives still need some food during nectar flows. This is especially true for new hives. In this video we take a look at a hive that needs food even though there is a major nectar flow.
- Once your honey is harvested, place your supers back on your hive to let the bees clean up the excess honey. Remember, your bees will be “robby” since there is very little natural nectar available once the flow has stopped. Make sure to put your freshly harvested honey supers back on your hives late in the evening, which will give your hive all night to clean and remove the excessive smell of honey. This will help prevent other hives from robbing your hive the next day. Once the supers have been cleaned, you can remove all but one box above your brood nest and store the rest with Certan or Para-Moth for the next season.
- Begin providing a water source for your bees if natural water sources begin drying up for the summer.
- Postharvest is the most critical time of the entire beekeeping year for providing care. Details for postharvest care will be outlined in the July issue.
Is your honey cured? Here's a simple test to verify!