Fermented Honey From Hive Beetle

Started by heaflaw, August 09, 2009, 07:18:16 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

heaflaw

Small Hive Beetles just arrived in my area.  Yesterday I uncapped & extracted 12 frames (4 gallons) before I tasted it & realized I had mixed in some fermented honey, apparently caused by SHB.  After I realized it, I smelled the empty frames and 3 of them smelled fermented.  I have 5 more supers sitting in my kitchen that I won't be able to work up until Monday afternoon.
Is there a way to tell before I uncap a frame, if SHB larva are in it and it has fermented?  Should I freeze it overnight & work it up on Tuesday?  I guess I ruined all 4 gallons by mixing in some honey that was fermented.  Can I feed it back to the bees?
Any advice from you guys that have been dealing with SHB would be appreciated.

asprince

Were the fermented frames capped? Were they slimed?
If you have SHB you would be wise to extract your other five supers quickly! SHB eggs hatch in a matter if days and you could have a mess. Freezing will stop the process. It would take a lot of freezer space for 5 supers.

As for your 4 gallons, make mead or feed it back to the bees.

Steve
Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resembalance to the first. - Ronald Reagan

heaflaw

Thanks, Steve
All frames were capped.  What do you mean by slimed?  I didn't look closely, but I didn't see anything odd about the capped honey.  Should I be able to see that they contain larva?

sc-bee

I have never seen it fermented from shb without larvae present. Also you would see comb teeming with adult beetles. And you will know the difference :(! At least that has been my unfortunate experience.

And as stated above slimy --- as in a coat of slime on the comb, often oozes out the bottom boards when it happens on a hive.

You said the frames where capped, could they have fermented from moisture gathering before extraction???
John 3:16

heaflaw

I started extracting an hour after taking the supers off, so I don't see how they could have picked up moisture.  The frames that I smelled fermentation in after extracting had definitely been uncapped.  I think I just went so fast without thinking, that I must not have noticed slime or larva or whatever.