Advice on storing sealed honey frames

[kirk boy]

this will be my first year seeing a hive through winter and for that reason I have not taken any honey there is now quite a surplus and I was wanting to know the best way to store frames of sealed honey with a mind of giving it back to the bees later on if needed.

[lindsay s]

My advice would be to keep your surplus honey for yourself and feed your bees sugar syrup.A brood box full of stores should be enough to see your bees through the winter.Some beekeepers leave a super of honey above the brood box for winter. If you are going to do that make sure you have removed the queen excluder from the hive or the queen will be left behind when the bees move up.Next spring you could find brood in the super so unless you are working a brood and a half or double brood system you need to be careful.You didn't say what size your frames are but most sealed honey will granulate in time no matter how well it,s stored.Don,t be left with super frames full of set honey that you can,t use next year.

[gavin]

Good advice from Lindsay. If you don't have or can't borrow an extractor and the honey is for your own use then scraping down the frames and squeezing through a strong coarse-mesh cloth is an option. I have some woven nylon material which I use for small harvests of heather honey.

You are best to get them organised for winter asap, and holding back a super of honey to add later isn't the best way - even if I did that myself last winter! Part-used super frames are a pain and getting them cleared next year usually involves putting the super under a strong colony.

If your spare frames of honey are brood frames, even better. They will be useful next year, maybe if the colony gets too light as spring approaches or if you split it when it makes queen cells.

So to answer your question (!), store them somewhere cool in their box with a sheet of something like plywood underneath and above to keep out unwanted visitors such as mice and bees.

Gavin

[GRIZZLY]

Don't forget that honey is hygroscopic so the slightest damage to the cappings can let moisture in diluting the honey allowing it to seep out and even ferment.I've had trouble in the past trying to keep honey show sealed frames pristine.The only way was in a sealed airtight box.It would be very difficult to keep sealed combs airtight en-masse for future use and you could stand the chance of feeding fermented stores to the detrement of the colony.As Lindsay says - eat it yourself and feed the bees with syrup or candy later.

[kirk boy]

I have noted your advice and will take them on board these suggestions helps me prepare for winter. Ta.