I don't want to start a fight

[hummingberd]

This is my first year with a surplus honey crop! I'm excited that the bees were so successful! A friend of mine was going to meet her future in-laws and was nervous about finding an appropriate gift for them. I gave her a frame of capped honey, and she cut pieces of comb out of the frame and put it in a glass jar. ( the gift was a big hit! ) Now I have a frame that's a little...er... messed up and I'm not sure what to do with it. Can I put it outside away from the hives for the bees to clean up, or will that cause fighting? I could put it back in the one of the colonies, but I'm worried that they won't clean it up. A couple of the wires are cut and there's a pretty big chunk of comb dangling. What are your thoughts?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Ravenseye]

You can put it outside and let them clean it up. Don't put it too close to the hives or else other bees will discover your colonies and THAT will cause fighting. You could put a spacer on your hive and lay the comb on the top of the inner cover. The bees will clean it up pretty good. You could also just crush the last of the honey out for yourself and then replace the foundation. If you have a frame in the hive that's not been pulled, you could swap it with the messy one. They'll clean it up inside without too much problem although I've had times when they went wonky building new comb on a damaged frame. You could freeze it and give it to them if they need food later, assuming that there's some honey in the dangling comb.

[riverrat]

cut the rest of the comb off and enjoy. leave a small starter strip of comb along the top remove the vertical wires. Replace in the hive in the spring.

[Ruben]

Put it out they will clean it right up.

[hummingberd]

thanks y'all! Why do you have to freeze the honey? Can't I just store it in the basement? where it's about 50-60 deg?

[riverrat]

It will attract insects and mice. If there is wax moth eggs in the comb they will hatch. 57 degrees is the optimal tempurature for honey to crystalize

[pgmrdan]

I use the 'crush and strain' method to harvest honey. Afterwards I put the frames with foundation back in the hive for the bees to clean up. That way the bits of honey aren't wasted.

[hummingberd]

so, do I freeze it and then take it out or leave it frozen in the freezer?

[Ravenseye]

Leave it frozen until you need it.

[hummingberd]

And do I just put the frames in the freezer or do I have to wrap them in something?

[Hobie]

When I did chunk honey (comb in a jar + honey) I froze it for a couple days after it was in the jar to make sure no wax moth larvae ruined the gift.

[tecumseh]

if you wish to reuse the frame without adding foundation, do as river rat has suggested.

most time when I keep comb honey around I just cut it off into one of those flat plastic storage containers with a snap on lid and place this in the frig. once cut, comb honey is awfully messy.