So, my 2nd year all mediums hive swarmed, caught the buggers, now I have a new hive but I had hoped the original hive was going to be my big producer.
So I have many frames in the original hive with honey on them, but I'd say equal parts brood pollen & honey. Then I found one frame that is maybe 90% honey. I WANT IT FOR ME!
There is some pollen and then on along the bottom of the frame there appears to be maybe 20 or so unhatched drone cells. Questions are:
- Of the honey cells, ~25% is uncapped, wait for the bees to cap before harvesting?
- Drone cells, wait for them to hatch or sacrifice them? Again, there isn't allot, just maybe two rows at bottom of the frame and only a small % are capped with brood.
- Pollen cells, how do I handle them? There isn't allot of them, and the pollen appears to be at the bottom of the cells.
Thanks all, I just did so much work to get this hive through winter and mentally I just want something out of it. Also want to show the kids what the work was for too before they start thinking that its all just work and there is no payoff!
So I have many frames in the original hive with honey on them, but I'd say equal parts brood pollen & honey. Then I found one frame that is maybe 90% honey. I WANT IT FOR ME!
There is some pollen and then on along the bottom of the frame there appears to be maybe 20 or so unhatched drone cells. Questions are:
- Of the honey cells, ~25% is uncapped, wait for the bees to cap before harvesting?
- Drone cells, wait for them to hatch or sacrifice them? Again, there isn't allot, just maybe two rows at bottom of the frame and only a small % are capped with brood.
- Pollen cells, how do I handle them? There isn't allot of them, and the pollen appears to be at the bottom of the cells.
Thanks all, I just did so much work to get this hive through winter and mentally I just want something out of it. Also want to show the kids what the work was for too before they start thinking that its all just work and there is no payoff!