[CentralPAguy]

I did a major screwup this year. I had put an empty box above my inner hive cover and when I realized it, the girls had built comb everywhere. Now they have filled it with honey.

As I can't easily extract it, I want to convince the girls to move in from that box into their hive onto frames.

I put a super with foundation only underneath it and then separated it with an inner hive cover.

If the girls don't move it, what other tricks might I try. Thanks.

 

[fish_stix]

I'd say you're wasting time trying to get them to move it. Move the box on top and put the BeeGo to it, and then cut it all out and squish and strain!

 

[Robert Hawkins]

put it out where they can rob it.

Hawk

 

[heaflaw]

fish-stix is probably right, but you if you can get to the honey with a cappings scratcher or knife to open it up, and keep it above the IC with maybe another empty super just above the IC, they may move it down. The idea is for them to not think of the honey as part of their hive, but as open honey they found and can rob. I'd try to get as many bees out as possible. Maybe it work better to set it up like that on another hive. And maybe drawn comb would be better than only foundation.

 

[heaflaw]

put it out where they can rob it.

Hawk

Yeah, but robbing it might encourage robbing of hives.

 

[Joseph Clemens]

I can't get any robbing behavior going, at all, until the honey flow ends.

 

[David LaFerney]

I did a major screwup this year. I had put an empty box above my inner hive cover and when I realized it, the girls had built comb everywhere. Now they have filled it with honey.

I did that last fall with some crooked combs that I wanted them to move and it worked fine. It was during the fall dearth though. Your mileage may vary.

 

[RayMarler]

Put it on the bottom, under the brood box, under an excluder between it and the bottom brood box. Doing this makes it honey below the brood nest, and they'll move it up during slowing nectar flows.

The other way is above the inner cover, upside down, with cappings scratched if you can. I just tried this way, they removed all honey down except the two center frames, so I took it off and set it on it's side a hundred feet away, leaving the bees in it. They took it all back home by the end of the day.

 

[sqkcrk]

Cut and strain or throw it in your wax melter if you have one. Otherwise, wait until fall, when they might rob, and set this box out somewhere away from your hives and let the bees reclaim it.

Is any of the comb in good enuf shape from cut comb honey? I bet, if you sell honey at a farmers mkt, you could sell unusual shaped pieces of comb as edible bee sculpture. Ya never know.

 

[Michael Bush]

I'd wait until the weather is cool in the fall, pull the box (while there are no bees in it) and cut the whole thing out and crush and strain...

 

[CentralPAguy]

Is any of the comb in good enuf shape from cut comb honey? I bet, if you sell honey at a farmers mkt, you could sell unusual shaped pieces of comb as edible bee sculpture. Ya never know.

And here I am thinking what I might do with this mess that I allowed to be created and you have shown a clever marketing strategy. Puts a new spin on making lemonade from lemons.....

 

[sqkcrk]

yer welcome.

 

[Countryboy]

Use the combs for chunk honey. Put chunks of comb in a jar, and fill the jar with strained honey. This is a great use for oddball shaped pieces of honey combs.

 

[concrete-bees]

just put it on the hive in winter - let them feed on it and then in the early spring - swap it with another box and let them move up -

good luck with it - or just bee-go it and crush and strain

 

[sqkcrk]

just put it on the hive in winter - let them feed on it and then in the early spring - swap it with another box and let them move up -

I don't see how that would eleviate the problem at all. If his colony survived the winter the bees would be in this mess and he would be worse off.

 

[KQ6AR]

I think Country Boy has the easiest idea. Remove all the comb, & freeze it until you're ready to extract liquid honey. A lot of people like to buy honey with comb in the jars.

Use the combs for chunk honey. Put chunks of comb in a jar, and fill the jar with strained honey. This is a great use for oddball shaped pieces of honey combs.