Honey 2016!
Here’s my first jar of honey! It’s a very dark honey and tastes delicious.
Month: August 2016
Sweet treat…ments
Even though my Varroa mite count is low, treating all hives at this time of year is highly recommended. Late August is critical because as the bee population begins to naturally decrease in preparation for the dormant winter season, the mite population is reaching its highest population. It’s critical that the reduced cluster of winter bees be as mite free as possible. So yesterday I did the first of three powdered sugar treatments on both my hives.
How they figured out that dusting bees with powdered sugar is an effective mite control, I have no idea, but here’s how it works. Powdered sugar makes a coated bee too slick for mites to hold onto, so they drop off the bee. Since Varroa mites reproduce in the brood cells, powdered sugar treatments are required once a week for three weeks in order to treat all emerging bees/mites. (Worker bees have a three-week gestation period.)
The powdered sugar treatment is harmless for bees. After treatment the bees simply groom each other by eating off the powdered sugar.
Here is a picture of the observation board about ten minutes after treatment. The enlarged circle above shows the mites highlighted in yellow.
There are several options for treating Varroa. We’re told it’s important to use a variety of methods because the Varroa mite is highly adaptive. Treatments that were developed not that long ago are already ineffective as Varroa continue to evolve and build up resistance. Eventually honey bees will build up natural resistance to Varroa, but unfortunately it’s a slower process.
Honey harvest!
Today was a big bee day. I headed to A-Z Hardware in Grass Valley where I saw a powdered sugar treatment demonstration for Varroa mites, then afterward headed to the honey house where I harvested my honey. Below is a picture of the honey super with frames of capped honey.
Above is the uncapping tub. This is where the wax cap is removed to expose the cells of honey. As you can see, it’s a messy, sticky, honey and waxy mess. The tub has holes where the honey drains so there is no waste.
This is the inside of the extractor. Three frames in, seven more to go.
And here is the honey! It’s strained through two different sized mesh to remove any wax, clumps of pollen and bee debris.
And here is my bucket of honey! I harvested approximatey two gallons of honey from one honey super. I can’t get over how dark it is! Now it’s time to purchase jars and design my label.
The experience of harvesting honey can be summarized in one word, HOT. Literally! The honey house is kept over 90 degrees so the wax is easy to cut and the honey can flow effortlessly. It took me two hours to extract one honey super and clean the equipment. Imagine working in a sauna and you will know what the conditions were like. I was completely drenched from head to toe and probably dropped a few pounds of water weight before I was done. To make matters worse, the honey house had many bees inside and I was stung three times!
When I returned home I put the honey super back on the hive where the bees will keep busy cleaning up the frames and repairing the honeycomb. At this point I was tired and didn’t take the time to light my smoker so the bees were on high alert when I opened the hive. Ended the day with one more sting, four total for the day…an all time high!
