Can I harvest a little honey and beeswax from a hive?
Question by Nicole W: Can I harvest a little honey and beeswax from a hive?
so I found a very large honey bee hive in half a barrel (there is like 5 acres of cedar trees behind my house) I also happen to have a beekeeper suit and a smoker. Can I harvest a little of honey and wax without killing the hive, or making them move? I have a garden and they are very helpful. Also, I do no think they are the africanized kind because when they were threatened (bumped into by a mower) only a few of them attacked
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2 Responses to Can I harvest a little honey and beeswax from a hive?
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Nope.
Sisyphus
July 26, 2013 at 2:39 pm
I am the contact for bee removal in our area. The county extension Agency calls me when they receive inquiries like yours. I completed the Master Gardener’s program and added beekeeping to my new skills. I volunteered to help a beekeeper care for his bees until I learned enough to care for my bees. I still go to his stall and help sell honey and other products. I teach new beekeepers what I know about the craft. I attend the local beekeepers club and take classes that they offer. I often give lectures and seminars to the club, schools and at garden club meetings.
When I remove the bees, I keep the swarm intact. I always give the caller some honey if there is any excess so the hive can make it through the winter. I usually give them swarm to start up beekeepers or the callers. For a person who has learned to handle bees your question is relatively easy to perform.
You have to be careful not to kill or injure the queen when you disturb the nest. When you have found her, remove her to modern hive with foundation. You must bring along the brood. The pheromones from the queen and the instinct to raise the brood will keep the workers in the new hive.
The workers will relocate to the new hive following the queen and brood.
The smoker is generally used when opening a hive for the first time. After that, the temperament of the hive members will dictate if you need the smoker any further. Very rarely do seasoned beekeepers use suits here in Northern Indiana when working with their bees. They do use suits when needed.
Without proper training , you will run a great chance of killing the queen. If they don’t have brood under 72 hrs old the swarm will die because they won’t have time to make a replacement queen before the psuedo queen takes over. The psuedo-queen because she is unable to breed with the drones will only be able to produce drones. These drones are the hives last ditch attempt to save the genes of the hive. If that happens you may as well take all of the honey and wax from the destroyed hive as robber bees or other animals will certainly clean it up.
About 150 years ago beekeepers learned to use foundations that allowed them to remove the frames of honey and wax from the hive with a minimum of disturbance to the swarm. Before that most swarms were destroyed when the people robbed them. These foundation frames can be added to the barrel and the swarm will move into them. This would make your job of removing the honey much easier for a person not so familiar with bees.
Many beekeepers will sell you a complete hive set for your bees. They will transfer the bees to the hive and loan you the equipment to process both the honey and the wax. Join their club and they will probably supply your needs for next to nothing. With the collapse of many hives going on right now, there is becoming a shortage of bees world wide for the crops. You will learn from club members the best ways to replace, medicate and maintain your bees with greatest chance of success. In just a short time you’d be able to harvest the honey and the wax and not be concerned if you could save the hive also.
+We don’t have Africanized bees here in Northern Indiana. But if you only get attack by a few bees when you disturb the hive, you probably don’t have them either.
texter
July 26, 2013 at 2:56 pm