A hive of honey bees provides an endless supply of honey and beeswax to harvest. However, you’d be surprised at how few people know how to harvest honey and beeswax without disturbing the colony or harming any of the hive’s inhabitants.
To harvest honey and beeswax from your beehive, you will need a smoker like this one from Bee-Smart: The Home Beekeeper’s Guide. Smokers are essential tools in helping honey bee colonies thrive. Once all the entrances to the hive have been closed, the smell from the hive will attract predators that could destroy the colony. Using a smoker allows you to slowly release the sweet aroma of honey and pollen into the air, so that other animals do not take interest in it for potential food.
How is beeswax and honey harvested?
To harvest honey and beeswax, you will need to remove one or two frames of honey from the hive. You can then gently scrape the wax off with a spoon as you move down into the deeper parts of the hive. To do this, gently place your hive tool into the side of one of the frames and work your way down. When you reach the bottom layer, use an additional beekeeper’s tool to scrape off any wax left on the frame. With beeswax, you can also use a heat source such as a blowtorch to melt it at a low temperature before it hardens again.
The best time for humans to harvest honey is in late winter. The bees are more docile during this time, so they won’t be disturbed when you remove frames of honey or beeswax from their hive.
Honey harvested from late winter lasts for about six months and is known for not spoiling fast. Honey harvested from early spring has similarly great quality but must be used quickly because it spoils faster than that taken from late winter. Because harvesting honey increases pollination rates during visitation rates, many hives have evolved to produce more nectar in order to ensure they have enough food available while their population numbers are still small enough not to cause problems with predators.
How do you harvest honey from your beehive?
To harvest honey and beeswax, you will need to take three steps:
1. Create a straight-sided box with a lid that is smaller than the hive’s opening.
2. Place the box over the entrance of the hive and fill it with a smoker and an exhaust fan.
3. Remove the lid, let it fall into the hive, and watch for honey bees to begin exiting the hive to find their new home.
How do we harvest beeswax?
To harvest beeswax, you’ll need a beekeeper suit, a bee smoker (like this one from Bee-Smart), and gloves.
First, open the hive by pushing out with your arms. If the hive is especially large, use a hive tool to make it easier to slip under the bars. Then remove all of the frames from the hive.
Next, place each frame on top of a screened bottom board and take off one frame at a time. The mass of honey and beeswax will fall into your bee smoker while you are wearing gloves and holding onto the frame that has fallen off. Then close up the hole in the bottom board and insert it back into the hive.
How do I store my honey?
If you have harvested enough honey to fill two gallon jars or more, it is best to store them in an airtight container so that they don’t lose their flavor as quickly as they would if left exposed to oxygen.
How do you harvest honeycomb without killing bees?
If you are harvesting honeycomb, it is essential that your smoker is hot. When using a smoker, you need to blow hot air at the hive. If the smoker is not hot enough, the bees will not be disturbed and will remain in their hive.
When the smoke from the smoker enters the hive, it breaks down into two smaller elements: water vapor and carbon dioxide. The water vapor condenses on cold surfaces and begins soaking into them. This is what you want to happen! It means that the bees are breathing in both carbon dioxide and honey-sweetened air.
The other compound of smoke is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up 31 percent of bee breath, so it’s a major component of bee breath as well as bee saliva which they use to communicate with each other. Beekeepers who don’t have a smoker create artificial smoke by heating water in a pan until it boils, then cools again to form bubbles which creates CO2 gas (and lots of steam).
