How long to cap honey?

[gardeningfireman]

I checked my supers week before last, and most of the frames were 1/2 to 3/4 capped. Checked them today, with expectations of pulling all my foundationless frames, but still only had 2 that were fully capped. A few of the foundationed frames were fully capped, but most were still pretty much the same as two weeks ago. Does outside humidity and temperature play a large role in how long it takes for the bees to get the honey down to 18.5% and capped? It has been pretty hot and humid lately.

[indypartridge]

Weather certainly plays a part, but sometimes it's more due to nectar flow than humidity. If the nectar flow slows down, and there are lots of cells only 1/2 to 3/4 full, the bees will just leave them uncapped. The honey may be cured, but since the cells aren't full, they don't get capped.

[gardeningfireman]

That makes sense. Now we just need to train the bees to fill the cells completely before they start more!! :-D

[Michael Bush]

Until it's dry... and that could vary by 100 fold...