Question about nectar

[yoyo]

I have read that nectar takes up about twice the space in comb compared to after it has been dried. If bees dry the nectar down to roughly 18% moisture, what is the moisture content before they start to dry it? Therefore, you may need 2 supers on the hive (filled with nectar)to get 1 super of capped honey.


I also believe that leaving some honey on the hive all year is good insurance for your bees. We all hear about how important winter stores are, but they are also important year round. The bees have to work very hard to make honey, and they have to work extra hard to be able to accumalate any surplus honey. A strong hive that suddenly has a mishap of some sort can find itself struggling just to feed itself. If there is no stored honey (and pollen), the queen will probably reduce her egg production, and maybe shut down completly. This is in effect an effort to try to use less food than is curently coming in. It's a downward spiral the colony may not be able to recover from depending on when the next honey flow is going to happen. With a few frames of honey and pollen in reserve, hopefully the queen never has to reduce her egg production because of a lack of incoming food.

It's always a comfort to have a stocked up pantry when those cold, rainy days come, or the days you just may not feel like going out to the grocery store.

[brooksbeefarm]

Hmmm,is it possible that someone on this fourm thinks the same way I do.