As nectar flow picks up, strong hives will be ready for honey supers—but timing and management make all the difference. Knowing when to add space, how much to give, and when to stop can mean the difference between full boxes of honey or a lot of partially filled frames.
Knowing when a surplus nectar flow begins is key to successful beekeeping. By watching bloom cycles and observing bee behavior, beekeepers can better time when to add supers and maximize honey production.
Is My Honey Ready to Harvest? There are several indicators to help you know when to harvest your honey.
Do the "shake method" mentioned in the video above to make sure the honey is cured. You can also use a refractometer to ensure the moisture content is under 19%. What are the flowers telling you? Are the major nectar...
Once robbing starts, things can go downhill fast. 🐝
If you know what signs to watch for and act quickly, you can often save the hive. Here’s what robbing looks like, how to stop it, and how to help prevent it in the first place.
By: Denessa 'Nes' Yaschuk Owner - SweetNes Honey Apiaries & Beetique The creation of comb honey is an art form in the field of beekeeping. Before the invention of the honey extractor almost all honey produced was in the form...
By: Blake Shook How to Know When it's Time to Harvest Honey There are a handful of indicators to help you know when to harvest your honey. 1. The major nectar producing flowers begin to die. What those flowers are...
Bees not filling honey supers when expected can be frustrating, but the cause is often fairly easy to diagnose. Identifying what’s holding them back is usually the first step toward getting the hive back on track.
This year is stacking up to be a very unusual year when it comes to honey production. As the rains continue in North, Central and South Texas, honey production has all but stagnated for the most part. For Small Scale...
How can you tell if honey is pure? Most people who buy honey direct from a beekeeper, do so because they want pure, raw, local honey. Thanks to beekeepers, consumers are becoming more aware that honey is one of the...
There are several indicators that can help you determine when it’s time to harvest your honey. The major nectar-producing flowers begin to die. The specific flowers will vary by region, but every area has a few key plants that produce...
New foundation can slow hive expansion, but strategic feeding can help bees draw comb faster. These methods can also help jumpstart new colonies and support more efficient honey production for next year.
How to: Identify Stop it What to do after Prevention By: Chari Elam Honey is in the air! Literally when honey supers are pulled, the air is filled with the wonderful aroma of honey, beckoning other hives to take advantage...
Let’s face it, one of the greatest parts of beekeeping is “Honey Extraction"! Having said that, it’s also a LOT of work! The first step in that process is to remove the bees from the honey supers! Fortunately, beekeepers have...
Post-harvest is one of the most vulnerable times for our bees. The smell of honey is in the air and the scout bees are on the hunt, thus it’s very important to learn how to recognize robbing behavior. During robbing...
Wonky comb, crooked, off-center, askew—no matter what you call it, comb that doesn’t follow the correct path can be a real pain. Common causes include uneven hives, weak colonies, excess frame spacing, and unwaxed foundation. When this happens, sometimes just scraping it off, rewaxing the frames, and letting the bees start over is the best way to fix it.
