Beekeeping – How to Harvest the Honey

Harvesting the honey is the high point of beekeeping. You will know that it is time to harvest the honey when you look in one of your hives supers and find that the frames are full of honey combs that your bees have covered with wax caps.

All you have to do is remove the honey combs in a way that is safe for you and safe for your bees as well. Harvesting the honey won’t be a problem as long as you put on all your beekeeping gear, wear light colored clothes (beekeepers swear that lighter colored clothes have a soothing affect on bees) and stay calm.

The next step is to safely remove your bees from the super. You can try to smoke them out with a smoker (using old dried corncobs in its combustion chamber), or you can try a fumer board covered with chemicals that are safe for bees. These chemicals (like Bee-Go) have a scent that bees find offensive so they will move away from it. Normally they will head towards the bottom of the hive leaving the super full of capped honeycombs ready to harvest.

Once you have the honey comb you need to prepare it to be extracted. The first step in this preparation is to remove the wax caps the bees have used to seal the honey into the honey comb.

Many beekeepers prefer to use nine frames instead of ten in their supers. By using nine frames they give the bees enough room to draw the comb out, placing the cap right on the very edge of the comb. This makes it easier to remove the wax caps.

Beekeepers use a metal knife to remove the caps. The knife works best if the knife blade is warmed as it is easier to cut warm wax then it is to cut cold wax. You can keep the knife blade warm by frequently dipping it into hot water. Many beekeepers like to use their bread knife to remove the wax caps from the honey comb while others prefer an electrical knife that is designed just for beekeepers. Removing the caps from the dripping honey is easy. Just use a piece of cheese cloth to empty the contents into a second pot, the honey will drain through the cheesecloth and the bee’s wax caps will get collected on the top. You will notice that there is a surprising amount of honey attached to these caps, honey that can be processed and used. Also there is a market for the wax caps to make beewax candles etc. from it.