Got the chance to open up my hives today. All were healthy. I was very generous with how much honey I left on for them for winter and was surprised today to find out that two of my hives aren't even half way through their stores with at least 1 1/2 medium supers of honey untouched on each. There weren't even any bees in the full medium super of honey when I opened it up.
I know spring is a long way off, but is there anything I can do with this honey. Will it still be usable to the bees after winter if they don't need it? Could I extract it still if they don't use it?
This is only my second year of beekeeping and my first winter. Last year I had a bear come through.