How long can a capped super last before extracting?

[bhambees]

I have a hive in a great area of knotweed and they're going crazy. I pulled a couple fully capped frames from the super and brought them home. I added a couple empty super frames hoping they can get a start on building the comb for next year. I can't extract until next weekend, so are the frames I pulled safe for a week. They're in a cool, dark, secure place now.

[Joseph Clemens]

Cool, dark, secure; not safe even for a few hours - sounds like a perfect environment for wax moth larvae to have a feast.

[bhambees]

Then where should I keep them?

[Hokie Bee Daddy]

The freezer. Leave them in there and remove them two days before you are ready to extract. When you remove the frames put them in thick plastic bags and seal them as best as you can to prevent moisture from condensing on the combs. You'll be good to go with this plan.

[Jonhuang]

Wouldn't the cold possibly cause his capped supers to crystallize?

[psfred]

Quite the opposite, keeping them that cold will prevent crystallization. Unless those frames are completely free of wax moth or small hive beetle eggs or tiny larvae, leaving them more than 24 hours will result in moth or beetle larvae drilling holes in them, leaking (or worse, slimed) honey, and a huge mess!

You can wrap them well in plastic, seal it up, freeze them for a couple days, then store in that cool, dry place since freezing will kill all the pest eggs and larvae, but it's safer to just keep them there.

We will sometimes let the supers sit overnight before extracting just due to time constraints or weather, but no longer.

Peter

[Acebird]

In Washington? I'd wrap them up in a plastic bag or put them in a plastic tote and keep them in my basement. This late in the season I don't see any problem. I have had frames out in a swarm trap since last April and just now I am starting to see a few larvae and hive beetles. I shook them out on the ground and put the frames back in. I am going to store them through the winter that way.

Take a picture in a week. I want to see this slime you speak of.

[KQ6AR]

I don't have a problem leaving a few capped frames in the house, in a super. I keep the top open so light gets in it, & extra space between the frames.

[Hokie Bee Daddy]

It may be okay to leave them exposed for a while but why would you take a chance? What's the benefit?

Freeze them and then you will know for sure that the pests that can destroy your honey are dead.

[Acebird]

It may be okay to leave them exposed for a while but why would you take a chance?

You may not have the freezer space. If you do have it then this would be the best action.

[BeeCurious]

I can't extract until next weekend, so are the frames I pulled safe for a week. They're in a cool, dark, secure place now.

I think you could keep frames of honey almost anywhere for 7 days.

[NDnewbeek]

Work prevents me from pulling supers and extracting on the same day - or even weekend. I pull the supers and stack them on an upside down migratory cover. I put a second migratory cover on the top of the stack. I just make sure that there are no gaps, so they can't be robbed. They typically sit a week like that without any problems.

As a disclaimer - we really don't have hive beetles here, maybe I see one or two by the end of the summer that have piggy-backed in on the commercial hives. We do have wax moths - in abundance.

Also, the honey I get is predominantly alfalfa. It crystallizes in a few months on its own after extraction. If I froze it, I would have to scrape it out of the combs with a tiny spoon.

[Acebird]

If you freeze it, it will slow down the crystallizing process so the only inconvenience is that you will need to warm it up before extraction. No spoon necessary.

[libhart]

I don't mean to hijack the OPs thread, but I had a question about this a week or so ago as I thought, "I wonder if dry ice could be used to kill off all the nastys in a super so storage would be possible for a while."

Any thoughts on those of us w/o the freezer space using a chunk of dry ice on top of a stack of supers in a sealed bag (realizing the bag needs to expand quite a bit as the dry ice sublimates) to get rid of all the larvae that might ruin them?

As far as pulling them into a basement w/o any kind of freezing, I'd really advise against that. I've heard stories of wax moths pupating and becoming adult moths in basements and it's next to impossible to rid your house of them once that happens. Of course if you're going to extract them in a week I don't think you'd have that problem.

[Joseph Clemens]

I guess you could store them for a week in a closet, bathtub, basket, or basement. At least as long as you don't mind a small amount of wax moth larvae innards mixed in with your honey. Often there are small wax moth larvae present on combs, but unnoticed until they grow a little larger. A week should give any present a chance to increase their size quite a bit.

[BeeCurious]

I guess you could store them for a week in a closet, bathtub, basket, or basement. At least as long as you don't mind a small amount of wax moth larvae innards mixed in with your honey. Often there are small wax moth larvae present on combs, but unnoticed until they grow a little larger. A week should give any present a chance to increase their size quite a bit.

Would a week or two in the hive result in fewer wax moths?

[bhambees]

Well, I put them in the freezer. I'll take them out a day or two before I extract. Any suggestions on the best way to heat up the frame a bit to make extracting easier?

[Nantom670]

I noticed looking at your forecast that it is going to be in the high 70s for the next five days. I put mine in a plastic tote with a top and put them in my van in direct sunlight and they get very hot. Some suggest taking a hair dryer and blow across the frames.

[Hokie Bee Daddy]

Bhambees, when you take the frames from your freezer remember to put them in a plastic bag and seal it as well as you can. This will prevent condensation from building on the comb which could increase the moisture level of your extracted honey and cause it to ferment.

Regarding how to warm it, I just store the frames in the garage a couple of days before I extract. My garage gets warm enough to work pretty well.

[Acebird]

I've heard stories of wax moths pupating and becoming adult moths in basements and it's next to impossible to rid your house of them once that happens.

What do the wax moths live on once the frames are removed? I have stored my frames in the basement for three seasons now. When should I start seeing this wax moth infestation?

I do plan on storing them outside this year because I am tired of hauling all the gear out of the basement.

You can get as elaborate as you want when it comes to warming honey in frames.
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