Collecting and storing honey involves several steps, both for the bees and for beekeepers. Here’s a detailed guide:
From the Bee’s Perspective:
- Nectar Collection: Bees collect nectar from flowers using their long, tube-shaped tongues (proboscis) and store it in their honey stomach.
- Returning to the Hive: Once back at the hive, the forager bee transfers the nectar to worker bees through a process called trophallaxis.
- Enzyme Addition: The worker bees add enzymes to the nectar. This process reduces the water content and begins converting sucrose into glucose and fructose.
- Evaporation: The nectar, now mixed with enzymes, is placed into honeycomb cells. Bees fan their wings to evaporate excess moisture, reducing the water content from about 70% to around 17-18%.
- Capping: Once the honey reaches the right consistency, bees cap the cells with wax to seal it off for storage.
From the Beekeeper’s Perspective:
- Hive Inspection: Check the hives to ensure they are healthy and that there’s enough space for honey storage. Look for frames that are mostly capped with wax, indicating the honey is ready.
- Smoke the Hive: Use a smoker to calm the bees, making it safer to work with the hive.
- Remove Frames: Carefully remove the frames that are filled with honey and mostly capped. Use a bee brush or escape boards to gently remove bees from these frames.
- Uncapping: Use an uncapping knife or machine to remove the wax caps from the honeycomb.
- Extraction:
- Manual or Electric Extractor: Place the frames in a honey extractor, which spins the frames, using centrifugal force to extract honey from the combs.
- Crush and Strain: Alternatively, for small-scale beekeeping, you can crush the comb and strain the honey through a mesh.
- Filtering: The extracted honey is then filtered to remove bits of wax, pollen, and other impurities.
- Settling: Allow the honey to sit for a day or two in a settling tank. Air bubbles, wax particles, and other debris will rise to the top and can be skimmed off.
- Bottling:
- Jars or Bottles: Pour the clean honey into sterilized glass or food-grade plastic containers.
- Labeling: Label the containers with the date of harvest, type of honey (if specific), and any other required or desired information.
- Storage:
- Store honey in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
- Honey doesn’t spoil, but it can crystallize over time. If crystallization occurs, the honey can be returned to liquid form by gently warming it.
- Hive Maintenance: After honey collection, ensure the bees have enough honey left for their own use through the winter or less productive months. If necessary, provide supplemental feeding.
Remember, ethical beekeeping involves leaving enough honey for the bees to survive, especially over winter, and only taking surplus. Also, always use clean equipment to prevent the spread of disease among bee colonies.
