Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: glenn c hile on August 13, 2010, 08:42:20 PM

Title: Extract dark comb?
Post by: glenn c hile on August 13, 2010, 08:42:20 PM
Queen got up into some honey supers so I have several frames that have 50% combs that were used for brood at sometime in the season.  Do I go ahead and extract those or save them for brood next year?  Honey looks and tastes fine.  What is the general opinion?
Title: Re: Extract dark comb?
Post by: harvey on August 13, 2010, 10:36:03 PM
I would definately extract and eat the honey!  Once you strain it, it will be fine!
Title: Re: Extract dark comb?
Post by: AllenF on August 13, 2010, 11:02:09 PM
I extracted 2 supers last week that had brood comb once, just really tough wax. 
Title: Re: Extract dark comb?
Post by: RayMarler on August 14, 2010, 12:32:18 AM
Yea, it makes the wax tougher so it's easier to extract, but it won't change the honey.  Extract and enjoy!
Title: Re: Extract dark comb?
Post by: Kathyp on August 14, 2010, 12:46:39 AM
extract! i have gotten some outstanding honey from nasty looking comb.
Title: Re: Extract dark comb?
Post by: JP on August 14, 2010, 10:53:13 AM
Quote from: kathyp on August 14, 2010, 12:46:39 AM
extract! i have gotten some outstanding honey from nasty looking comb.

So nasty its good!  :-D


...JP
Title: Re: Extract dark comb?
Post by: Kathyp on August 14, 2010, 11:09:32 AM
oh darlin....you know it can be!

should have added that you want to filter it pretty well.  as i recall i ran mine through a couple of layers of cheese cloth.
Title: Re: Extract dark comb?
Post by: glenn c hile on August 14, 2010, 04:14:25 PM
Thanks that's what I had been doing. 

Another question, relegate these to brood comb replacement next year or back in the honey supers?  Without using a queen excluder I think I will end up with a lot of brood comb!

Another observation.  I put some foundationless in between frames with foundation for some comb to cut and it seems that the queen preferred using the foundationless over the plastic. 
Title: Re: Extract dark comb?
Post by: Kathyp on August 14, 2010, 07:32:14 PM
i just extracted from 8 supers and had no brood in any of them.  i did not super until the deeps had a band of honey over the top of the brood.  i think that made all the difference.  you can cut out the brood comb and let the bees repair it next year unless you just want to start over with new foundation.  if those frames are the same size as your brood chamber frames, just swap them next year with some frames from below that were not used for brood.