I've seen a lot of posts about how early the goldenrod is starting to bloom. Well, I don't want to start a debate about the dirty sock smell, or the likes and dislikes of the flavor of goldenrod honey...
I'm in Michigan and what I'm wondering is... If I extract now and leave the goldenrod flow for the bees to overwinter on, what happens to their food supply? Will the goldenrod crystallize in the hive before the cold weather hits and make it tough on the bees? Does Crystallized honey really cause dysentary? Is it harder for them to digest? It seems like I read that it's bad to overwinter on Canola honey in Canada, is that because it crystallizes?? I do know that Michigan had huge winter losses last year and I want to do everything I can to make it easier on the bees.
I overwintered last year on the Goldenrod, but it was honey they stored late in the fall. This years goldenrod is so early I fear the combs will cement up and make it tough on them.
I'm thinking it may be better to save some of the frames of my spring/summer flow for the bees and pull the goldenrod later. I know it's a pain doing a second extraction but ???? Anybody have any ideas???
i have never heard of crystalized honey being hard on bees. many of us put dry sugar on the hives for extra food in winter. they are fine with it. some use candy boards and the bees are fine.
i'll be interested to hear if anyone has other info on crystalized honey, but to my knowledge there is no harm in it.
I've seen them eat crystallized honey. They'll go for the liquid out of it first because it's easier. What's left looks like clumps of sugar crystals in the cells. They have no trouble eating when they need to. I don't worry about it. We don't get much of a goldenrod honeyflow here but some of our honeys will crystallize as well.
You're fine with what they collect. I don't get a huge fall flow and normally will have my supers pulled by mid-august, the rest is for them.
I agree, crystallized honey is fine. They'll remove it in the spring during cleaning but will eat it just fine over the winter. That's the way God made them :). I've heard that some types of honey can have more dissolved solids and therefore harder on the bees, but I don't think that if it were the case it would be serious enough to be worth trying to pull all the honey off before they clustered just to feed them back sugar.
Thanks so much for the replies.
I had a huge goldenrod flow last year, enough to overwinter and I extracted some. All that I extracted crystalized in the jar within a month.
I'd heard that to keep it from crystalizing you can freeze it....hence being capped in the hive and the freezing Michigan winters would slow down the whole hardening up process, but not if it's in the hive for months before it freezes.
Sooooooo does anybody know if Overwintering on Canola in Canada really is a bad thing? Is it because Canola crystalizes? Or just another beekeepers Myth?
I wouldn't pull the Goldenrod to feed back sugar, I'd swap out a Goldenrod super for a spring/summer super.
Thanks for your responses...
the stuff i extracted last year crystallized in a couple of weeks. it was primarily from the blackberries. don't know that i have ever taken any that didn't crystallized at some point.
i have never heard of anything they store being bad for them to overwinter on...
Think about the temp. in the cluster. As they move up, the heat of the cluster will liquify the honey. There's no reason they ever have to eat crystallized honey.
Thanks Kathyp.
Winter was so long and hard last year and this summer has been so wonky, I'm just being overly motherly. It's what I do.
I agree, I don't think the crystallized is really "bad" for them, just wondering if the liquid honey would be a little easier on their digestion. Ok, I understand that different floral origins of the honey produces higher glucose/fructose ratios. Like Goldenrod would have higher glucose/fructose ratios than the summer flowers that don't crystalize. I guess to put it bluntly, does crystalized honey tend to give them the runs. Being confined last winter for months without any cleansing flights my hives were a mess this spring. Poooooooop everywhere the poor things. Just trying to make it a little easier on them if possible.
iddee,
I don't know about the heat in the hive de-crystalizing the honey. It is supposed to be 109 degrees here today and 112 tomorrow. Been above 100 for most of the last 6 weeks. When I checked my hive Saturday I noticed several places/cells of uncapped honey and the honey looked more like a solid--all dried out. Not sure I would say it was crystalized but looked more crystalized than like natural, flowing honey. The heat sure hasn't liquified it. More like it has dried it out. I am doubtful if when I put it in the extractor it will sling out. I am anxious to see what happend to it.
Most likely its not the golden rod that is crystallizeing so fast but the aster that blooms at the same time
I'd agree, aster honey does crystalize, but I don't really have many asters. My bees sit in the middle of acres of goldenrod.
I've been thinking about it. Unlike what a lot of beekeepers claim, my bees tend go into and out of winter clustering in the top of the hives. Maybe they go through the goldenrod first.
I always leave the fall honey for the bees to winter on.
Linda, the inside and outside temp. Is never the same. If the bees weren't controlling it, they would be dead from the heat you are talking about. They control both the heat and humidity from outside -40 to +120 F. The inside stays where they want it.
Quote from: AllenF on August 02, 2011, 01:58:56 PM
I always leave the fall honey for the bees to winter on.
Me too. Mine keep all goldenrod collected, (once they begin blooming I stop taking any honey) until Spring that is, that's when I take mine (when the dandelions begin). Perhaps its the cold winter temps that take the alleged 'bad' taste from goldenrod honey, cuz our Spring (leftover honey) is always great as a 'first' taste of the year. This all said, goldenrod blooming seems very early this year even for N/W Wisconsin.
thomas
I winter mine every year on goldenrod honey. I've never seen them have any problems eating it.
Quote from: iddee on August 02, 2011, 12:17:59 PM
Think about the temp. in the cluster. As they move up, the heat of the cluster will liquify the honey. There's no reason they ever have to eat crystallized honey.
of course not they heat the honey.
Almost all honey crystallised in the hive when it is cold.
When bees uncap the honey cell, honey sucks moisture from hive air and dilute the sugar.
That is why the cells have caps, that moisture does not spoil the store.