Why is honey not capped?

Lone · January 07, 2012, 10:39:30 AM

Hello,

I was only able to lift 2 frames of honey from 3 hives today that was sufficiently capped. One hive has been in the same state of being practically full of honey for a couple of months now, and there may have been a slight increase in the amount capped from say 1/2 to 3/4 of the frame, but still had only one ready to take. There was whitening on the frames. They have been extracting from some of the other hives in the same beeyard and I was wondering if some bees are particularly slow cappers. The weather reports have the humidity at about 35-50%. It hasn't rained for a couple of weeks and is pretty hot.

Lone

AllenF · January 07, 2012, 10:57:35 AM

The bees will cap it when it is ready to be capped.

Finski · January 07, 2012, 02:05:48 PM

.
Yes, and cells must be full before they start to cap.
If you have 2 boxes non capped honey, then them rob another. Perhaps they get the cells filled.

texjim · January 07, 2012, 03:16:38 PM

i was wondering the same thing. i had two supers full of honey most of the summer but they never capped it.

bud1 · January 07, 2012, 06:06:30 PM

miss lone; give it a hard shake, if nothing comes out take it mine do that some times and the honey is so dried down it wont hardly sling and what the heck if some starts bubling just drink it a little later on.

backyard warrior · January 07, 2012, 06:08:01 PM

sometimes they dont cap it because the nectar flow cut them short and they dont have the resources to cap the honey even thougth its dehydrated to the right percentage Chris

Lone · January 08, 2012, 12:01:38 AM

Thanks for the replies.

Allan, I thought the bees should cap when I am ready.

Finski, that will be a good idea if they rob the other hives. I told the owners my bees will have to start paying rent soon.

Tex, I was wondering if it is a trait in certain bees. One hive is the split from the other, both good breeders and honey producers.

Bud, I would have but a beekeeper had words to me about not extracting with this bit of humidity until they are 99% capped. He does live closer to the coast though...he scares me a little, so I'm getting the paintbrush out this arvo to make the hives lighter colours because I told him I would.

Backyarder, that might explain things in the hive at home where the flow has cut off for a bit and they look ready to swarm, but in town the other hives are producing. Also, they built up comb on top of the frames. Maybe I am impatient, but I have a new stand painted for a honey container. Actually, the thing is, if the wet season sets in as well as it has the last 3 years, there might not be much producing or capping for a few months. I was hoping to get things sorted before then and hopefully a few plastic frames drawn while things are good.

Lone

Finski · January 08, 2012, 01:48:47 AM

.
How I can get 3 boxes uncapped honey

I have a hive full of capped honey. I extract at same time 5 medium boxes and return 3 to the hive.
Good flow continuos few days and bees carry nectar to those boxes. Then the yield stops for example for rain and never return.

So I have 3 boxes nectar and summer is over.
- not rare situation---

L Daxon · January 08, 2012, 08:34:48 PM

I agree with backyard warrior and others when they say the girls may have just run out of flow/resources to cap what they had already brought in. I kept my eye on half a super for two months this summer that never got more than half capped. I went ahead and extracted as the honey in them wouldn't shake out and in some cases looked almost hardened/crystallized. It was fine.