What to do?

[Chrisd4421]

Hi all,
     I just did an inspection and things seems to be going exceptionally well.  I have an 8 frame hive of all mediums.  As of now, I have 3 mediums of brood - 1 is loaded with capped brood - 1 is 1/2 capped honey and half brood and the last is 1/2 empty and the rest is brood and pollen.  I do hoever notice almost not drone brood and teh drone numbers have decreased. I also have a medium I am going to use for over-wintering that is now 100% capped honey.

Weather is warm during the days and 60s at night.  Since I am in NJ, I do expect to have some changes in the next 30 days.  My questions is that the bees are more acitve bringing in honey and pollen now than any other time this year....do I take a frame or two of capped honey?  I have no drawn comb to replace - I would have to put a foundationless frame in its place...  Or do I trust that they will slow production and leave it all for winter (and wont run out of room).  This is a first year hive

Any insight or help would be great

Thanks!!!
Chris in NJ

[gardeningfireman]

I would make sure the bees have what they need for the winter before even considering taking any honey. If there is any doubt at all about how much they have, feed, feed, and feed some more! Remember, as a responsible beek, the bees' welfare ALWAYS comes first! After feeding, if you can, take one or two frames of honey and freeze it in case they need it in March or April. Good luck!

[FRAMEshift]

If you have an entire medium of reserve capped honey plus what you have described in the hive, your bees already have enough for winter.   I don't see any problem in taking one or two frames for yourself.  New Jersey is not that cold and this is a La Nina winter which will be very mild.

[greenbtree]

If you do take a frame, I would save it in the freezer or someplace cool and see if the bees replace it.  I would think we are getting a little late, but I have heard that bees will sometimes gear up and replace if honey is taken.  If they don't replace it, you could give it back to them.

JC

[AllenF]

Fall is almost here and the drones are loosing their free ride.   The bees are running out of time to collect for winter.  Brood volume will slow down soon.  It is good to hear that your hives have enough stores for winter.   You can even them up in a month or 2 if you feel they need it by moving around frames from one hive to another. 

[Culley]

I'm a beginner, but if I was in any doubt, I'd leave the honey there for the bees.

If you do extract some, if you use an extractor you could put the extracted frames back in the hive for the bees to clean up and re-use.

[Chrisd4421]

Still on the fence here....really would love 1 frame for myself and my kids but I don't want to hurt the bees in the long run..

Chris in NJ

[AliciaH]

Chris, I know folks will have different opinions about this, but here is my two cents.....when I wonder about whether or not to steal a frame of honey from a hive, I ask my self a couple of questions.  1) How much food do they already have stored (it should be difficult to lift the boxes), and; 2) How efficient are they at storing food?

If your bees have stored enough honey for you to even consider stealing one frame, and, if they have built up that quantity on their own without help from you, then I would venture the opinion that one frame will not hurt them. 

You have a full box of capped honey in reserve for them, and if you are not already, you can feed them to help bolster whatever space they have left.

On the flip side, if they are bad at storing, I would leave the frame.