Can Capped Frames be FROZEN???

TapStoneBees · September 11, 2006, 02:34:42 PM

Just wondering,

Can Capped frames be kept in the freezer prior to extraction. I am out of town, and still have my supers on the hive. i have only one day that I will be back next week. If I take the supers off, (Hoping that it will be an ideal day), I just wondered if this can be done until the time that I will be able to extract the honey. And when it is time to extract... will having frozen the honey change the consistency?

If I can do this without damage to the honey, it wouldn't stay in the coldbox for more than 2 weeks.

Thanks, I am hoping that this might work.

Mici · September 11, 2006, 03:16:45 PM

in my opinion it would be better just to take it off, and seal it well, so other pesky criters can't reach it. like wax moth, mice and stuff, i think there's no need to freeze it.

bassman1977 · September 11, 2006, 03:19:48 PM

Can't you just keep it on the hive until you get back?

TapStoneBees · September 11, 2006, 04:24:49 PM

I could....
though what if they cap all the frames that are in the supers.

Last time that I looked when I took out he Excluder, I saw that the super I had put on just two days before was already being drawn.

I am really worried about the temps dropping and the bees might start eating what was made, even with the golden rod flo...... am i just being crazy?????

I looked and the girls are bringing in enormous amounts of pollen, white, very orange, and the stuff that people think is really Radioactive Looking. There is a huge field of Purple Loosestrife across from me, so that must be it.

There is so much activity that it is crazy....... I have seen a few odd looking bees though. The tips of their wings look as if they have been chewed or burned. These bees keep minipulating their back legs, and rubbing thier stomachs..... whats going on...... are the Ill?????

There are not alot....maybe six, in front of each hive, and they are not dead, just lathargic. I seldom see any but a few dead bees in front of the hives.

Shoul

bassman1977 · September 11, 2006, 04:56:16 PM

Quotethough what if they cap all the frames that are in the supers

This is a good thing. That's my way of knowing that the honey is ripe and ready

QuoteI am really worried about the temps dropping and the bees might start eating what was made, even with the golden rod flo...... am i just being crazy?????

Nah...this is fine...just think...when you winter a hive, it'll take all winter to go through 70 lbs of honey (which is what I winter with). Even then you might have left overs. That super will be fine. There's honey in the brood chamber, count on it.

QuoteThere is so much activity that it is crazy....... I have seen a few odd looking bees though. The tips of their wings look as if they have been chewed or burned. These bees keep minipulating their back legs, and rubbing thier stomachs..... whats going on...... are the Ill?????

There are not alot....maybe six, in front of each hive, and they are not dead, just lathargic. I seldom see any but a few dead bees in front of the hives.

Most likely they are old field bees. They literally work themselves to death and this is what you have at the end of it all. Those bees will meet their maker soon.

COLVIN · September 11, 2006, 05:25:29 PM

i have frozen honey cones many a times with no problems. just set the honey out for a few hours to thaw & drip off excess moisture. i put up 67 quarts last year ansd all of it was frozen over night to kill any pest that might be on or in it.

colvin

Brian D. Bray · September 12, 2006, 12:01:25 AM

Freesing the frames of capped honey is ok. Just be sure that they are fully thawed out before trying to uncapping and extracting the honey.

Scadsobees · September 12, 2006, 03:04:51 PM

QuoteThere is so much activity that it is crazy....... I have seen a few odd looking bees though. The tips of their wings look as if they have been chewed or burned. These bees keep minipulating their back legs, and rubbing thier stomachs..... whats going on...... are the Ill?????

This could be old workers, it could also be Deformed Wing Virus, a virus commonly vectored by mites. Old bees have frayed wings and not as much "fur", but young diseased bees have more "fur" but the wings are more wrinkled( or almost non existant). Keep an eye on the mite count.