I just pulled four full frames of honey (71/4 sides capped)from one of my two supers. I took out empties, and consolidated the remaining nine into one super. These frames vary from 1/2 full to completely full, but most are only 1/4 to 1/2 capped. The honey in them is thick; none dripped out with a shake. My question is should I leave them on the hive another week or two? It is getting down into the 30's and 40's at night now, with daytime highs in the 50's. I sure don't want them to crystalize in the cold, but I am afraid to pull them when they aren't capped. I estimate there is about 35 to 40 pounds of honey in them. What should I do?
I would leave it on the hive until spring. Of course, there are other "right" things you can do, which others may suggest.
I agree with idee, but if you didn't get any other honey this year I'd harvest at least a few, provided that the hive has enough stores.
If you are afraid of them not being capped and fermentation and all that, while you should be ok, you can always store the extra honey in the freezer until you need it.
Rick
This is my first year, so I didn't harvest earlier. The stores look good in both my hives. Do you think the bees will still cap these frames? Thanks! :)
Can't imagine they will cap them at these temps - our bees are done for the year for sure (Wisconsin). They can hardly get out of cluster, much less outside of the hive.
I say extract them - a refractometer could tell you if moisture content is too high. Or put them near a dehumidifier for a few days.
My experience is that if nectar doesn't come out with a firm shake (not even a drop), then moisture content is low enough. (make sure the frame is not cold though - at 30-40 degrees nothing may come out even if it is high moisture).
I just extracted a super that had about 6 fully capped frames and 4 frames that were 50% but no nectar would shake out. I put the super near a dehumidifier and it sat for about a 10 days because I just didn't have time to extract it . . . it actually was too thick and I may well have to mix this with my other crop - haven't checked the moisture content yet, but I bet it is super low.