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Our spring honey flow is coming to an end, which means it’s time to get ready for harvest. To harvest this honey, we have to take it out of the bees and bring it in for processing.
To do this, we removed the wax cap covering the battery, or what you might call the honeycomb. Next, place the uncovered frame of honey into the extractor and rotate the extractor to remove the honey. The honey flows down to the bottom of the extractor and then up, usually through a valve, into a double stainless steel strainer and bucket. It can be placed in buckets so that any wax or other particles float to the surface, and can then be bottled for use. The flakes that get filtered out won’t hurt anyone because they’re just wax; however, people don’t want to see flakes when you’re buying a jar of honey.
Most beekeepers check the moisture content to make sure the honey is suitable for extraction. However, on this long rainy weekend, honey is hygroscopic and will draw moisture from the air, increasing moisture levels. New honey will be available for you to buy soon, I recommend you sample it from different beekeepers as the taste of honey will vary and is determined by the source of the honey.
You should also remember that honey is used in warm cookies, salad dressings, syrups and ice cream. Welcome to the season of enjoying this freshly extracted honey in many ways. Later in summer, honey can be extracted from other crops. So enjoy your sweet treat. A responsible beekeeper will leave enough honey on the hives to sustain them through the summer.
What are commercial beekeepers doing with their bees at this time? Many commercial beekeepers pollinate low bush blueberry crops in Maine. The blueberries you buy in the freezer section of your local grocery store most likely came from Maine. These beekeepers sign contracts because their bees have been judged to meet the criteria for blueberry pollination. Blueberry pollination in Maine could become difficult due to bear populations. The good news is that they are easily scared away. Unlike Boo Bear, who wants honey, Bear wants pure protein. Bears are not gentle when they open hives, they are destructive. Once the blueberries are pollinated, a portion of the bees will move down and pollinate the cranberries.
So, what are the bees doing in South Carolina? South Carolina grows plenty of squash and cucumbers for your enjoyment, but these require pollination. A little to the east of the area grows watermelons and cantaloupe, which also require pollination. South Carolina will provide most of the East Coast for Fourth of July. A week or so before the Fourth of July, if you walk by Barnwell’s packing plant, you might see six to eight semi-trailer trucks waiting to be loaded. So when you include melons as part of your summer treats, thank beekeepers.
This is an excellent time for beekeepers to split parts of their hives. This means they will take some bees and young from the hive, put them into a smaller box, and provide them with a queen bee. This makes up for any winter losses.
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