Capped honey from ruined SHB hive

[omnimirage]

Awhile ago one of my hives was entirely decimated by Small Hive Beetle. I went through the hive, extracting all the clean looking *sealed* comb, and discarded everything else. Some maggots got in the bucket, I didn't realise SHB had killed them at the time.

Now I've got this bucket with a good 15-20 kilos of honey in it, and I'm unsure what to do. I read that the honey extracted from such hives isn't any good due to fementing. Does this mean I need to discard the honey? If so, how would I actually discard it? Can I somehow assess the honey to see whether it's actually spoiled or not? I was careful to only get the clean parts. If it is "spoiled", can I use it for mead?

I'm also super duper concerned about bringing SHB to my home where I extract. SHB has been spreading from the east, and the hive that was infested is a good 110 kilometers away from my home: from what I've gathered, SHB hasn't hit the suburbs yet (where I live), and I'd hate to change that. Do I need to be careful when opening these buckets? Are there any precautions I should take? I'm not sure if those maggots will simply die in their with enough time.

[GSF]

I've no experience with this scenario but I'd guess let the bees rob it and they'll take the good stuff back to the hive.

[Jim134]

           I have very limited experience with Small Hive Beetles .  There are more than enough beekeepers on this form who has had a lot of experience. Those are the ones I would like to really hear from.
             From what  I have read about small Hive beetles. There are quite a few things you can discourage them in the hive itself. Keep hives and full sunlight. Harvest honey when it is ready. Keep high density of bees in the hive. It certainly sounds like you will be getting different  practice managing your bees. Since you do have small Hive beetles now.



                        BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[PhilK]

I've no experience with this scenario but I'd guess let the bees rob it and they'll take the good stuff back to the hive.

Don't follow this advise Omni. In Australia it is illegal to leave frames and comb/honey outside to be robbed. It is a great way of spreading disease between hives, and is irresponsible behaviour. It's really common practice overseas, but don't do it here!

Is the honey in the bucket capped comb or liquid honey? If it is capped comb I wouldn't worry about it, but if it's liquid honey then there is a chance it has been contaminated. I am not sure how you would tell.. I suppose leave it for a few weeks and check back on it? If it seems like normal honey (not changing colour, consistency, bubbling etc) it's probably right. Maybe wait for a more experienced answer!

As far as SHBs go, there is a lot of great advice on this forum. Keep hives in full sunlight for as much of the day as possible, and there are heaps of beetle traps that work well. I am going to change my bottom boards over to beetle trap bottom boards come spring!

[omnimirage]

When I wish to feed bees honey for whatever reason, I've been placing it on top of the hive mat, within the hive. Works quite well!

It's capped comb. It needs to be strained through a sieve, using the crush and strain method.

Where do you get your traps from? I need to work out something like that now.

[SlickMick]

I wouldn't touch it

Mick

[Wombat2]

Capped honey in slimmed frames - hose it off with the garden hose and feed back to the bees.  Loose honey - dilute 1:1 and put in plastc zip sandwich bags with a couple of pin pricks and place under the lid of a hive to feed back

[PhilK]

Where do you get your traps from? I need to work out something like that now.

Any beekeeping store will have them, or try eBay if you're not close to a store. They're relatively cheap depending which type you go for

[omnimirage]

It's already been placed in a bucket, waiting to be sieved. We've put it in the freezer to kill the SHB.

What do you mean by loose honey? Dilute with what? Water?

Good to know about the traps! Thanks.

[PhilK]

What do you mean by loose honey? Dilute with what? Water?

I assume 'loose' means liquid honey (extracted from the comb). And yes, with water.

[omnimirage]

Is that to help it seap through the holes? I'd have a good 40 liters of it if I did such. Suppose I could give a bag to each swarm I catch this Spring.

[PhilK]

My understanding is that diluted honey is more likely to make them use it (building comb, feeding young etc) than regular honey. Regular honey they just store straight away. Double check that though!

[yantabulla]

Feeding honey back to bees is not a great idea for many reasons.  This is not just my opinion.

The link below may provide some information.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/532260/Feeding-sugar-to-honey-bees.pdf

Yantabulla

[omnimirage]

Great source of information! Sure was insightful. After reading those points, I feel, all things considered, that if the honey shows no sign of spoiling when it's being processed, that it's probably worthwhile to feed to starving swarms I catch in Spring, as a one time thing to help them start off. I'll have to do some more research and think about it, though.

[GSF]

Thanks Phil, I didn't realize it was illegal over there.

[Wombat2]

Feeding honey back to bees is not a great idea for many reasons.  This is not just my opinion.

The link below may provide some information.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/532260/Feeding-sugar-to-honey-bees.pdf

Yantabulla

Some good points in that fact sheet - with reference to honey feeding I think it refers to straight honey and using honey from other sources. Diluting 1:1 with water and feeding back to your own bees is no different to sugar syrup - but 30 litres ? If it is tainted and you are unlikely to get through it then it might have to be discarded

[omnimirage]

Well, I'd be interested in using the honey on swarms for an entirely different apiary site, which makes it "other source". I'll just burn it if it's tainted.