BEEKEEPING: When TOO MUCH Honey Becomes Dangerous

The effects of a honey bound hive can be serious if the queen runs out of space to lay. Keeping at least 6 frames with space to lay in the middle of the brood nest area is critical during the summer months. If you over feed or under super, the bees can fill the brood area with excess food. Blake walks us through how to identify and fix this issue!

[@rtxhoneybees]

Thanks for the info Blake. I was having a terrible honey season because of the almost constant rain in April and May. In the first week of July I was resigned to getting half of what i got last year. Well, i just pulled honey and apparantly they found something in July! I was expecting 10 supers and got 26! Have you heard others reporting late flows this year? I am near Corsicana.

[@thebeesupply]

That is amazing! I have heard of a handful of other beekeepers with that experience. Some of the rains in July gave a few areas a final boost of production! So glad to hear!

[@jackzak5945]

Why not run the filled brood frames through the extractor rather than letting it get robbed out assuming theres no brood?

[@thebeesupply]

That would work too! The downside is honey extracted from the brood next often has syrup in it, or has been treated with a mite treatment, so it's often not fit for human consumption. Then, it's hard to feed liquid honey to bees. It's easier for them to eat it right out of the comb.

[@TX_High_Prairie]

Do you ever have issues with hives getting too hot if they're in full sun?

[@thebeesupply]

If it's a weak hive in a single story hive, yes. Otherwise, if they have at least 2 boxes, they typically do just fine. That being said, I afternoon partial shade is helpful if you are in Texas!

[@TX_High_Prairie]

@@thebeesupply Thanks for the info. Mine are partially shaded.

[@rachelrmcbryan525]

When you take out the honey frames to be robbed, do you need to uncap?

[@TexasBeekeeper]

The bees will uncap them.

[@sirrabo8804]

will the brood that's in with the honey die when you leave the frames in the shade two days?

[@thebeesupply]

Yes, it unfortunately will. I'd recommend taking frames that are 100% honey for the bees to rob out, and leave any frames with brood in the hive.

[@kenalv]

Maybe you should call it "TOO MUCH FAKE Honey Becomes Dangerous" or instead of Fake Honey you can just call it Sugar/syrup liquid