Usually honey is pumped out twice a year. The first time is in July, since honey collection from some plants is early, and by July the combs are already full. The second is held in August as the final one in the season, since later it is no longer recommended to disturb the bees, they will begin preparing for the winter.
The timing of pumping honey
The first reason for pumping honey is the wax sealing of the honeycomb by two-thirds. It is also necessary to periodically weigh the frames, usually about 1-1.5 kg of honey is added. You can remove the frame from the hive and tilt it slightly, if the honey does not flow, then it is ready to be pumped out. The pumping itself is carried out in a bright room, closing access there for bees and wasps, it is recommended to carry it out in the morning.
Working with honeycombs
Bees collect honey so that they can then grow their offspring on it. For pumping take only sealed combs without brood. The weight of the sealed frame is approximately 4-5 kg. To get the frames, the hives are freed from the bees with the help of smokers, which are set for several hours. Honeycombs without brood are carefully removed from the hive, transferred to a special room, cleaned with a knife from excess wax and placed vertically in the honeycomb. The medogon looks like a metal barrel with a handle, in which the honeycomb is placed vertically, and then scrolled around its axis. Honey flows down the walls into a special container. The frames are set with the printed side facing out. When the honey is drained, the other side is opened and sent back to the honeydew. After the combs are dried and placed exclusively in the same hive from which they were taken. For drying, you can put the honeycomb next to the hive, the bees themselves will clean the honeycomb of honey residues.
Getting the maximum amount of honey
To get enough honey, you need to follow some rules:
- you should buy hives only in stores specializing in beekeeping;
- bee colonies are best purchased in the spring from trusted sellers, so as not to get sick or weak bees;
- after pumping out the honey, it is necessary to return the combs to the same hive and to the same place from which they were taken, so as not to spread the diseases of the bees;
- each bee colony must be carefully monitored.
Honey harvesting is usually carried out twice a summer, but this is not the law, since with proper care of bees, honey can be collected four times a season. It all depends on the filling of the honeycomb, weather conditions and the thoroughness of the care of the hives and bee colonies.
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