Comb Honey

Part 1

Produced by Tom Cosmas compiled from images made available by The Internet Archive.

Transcriber Note

Text emphasis denoted as Italics and =Bold=.

Issued August 23, 1912.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

FARMERS' BULLETIN 503.

COMB HONEY.

GEO. S. DEMUTH.

Apicultural Assistant, Bureau of Entomology.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1912.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D. C., April 16, 1912.

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript entitled "Comb Honey," by Geo. S. Demuth, apicultural assistant in this bureau.

In view of the increasing demand for the finest grade of comb honey and a decrease in the amount of comb honey produced, it seems timely to present to professional beekeepers an analysis of the best practice as well as to point out some essentials to the production of maximum crops of the best grade. I recommend the publication of this paper as a Farmers' Bulletin.

Respectfully, L. O. Howard, Entomologist and Chief of Bureau.

Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture.

CONTENTS.

Page

Introduction 5

Apparatus for comb-honey production 6 Shop and honey house 6 Hives 7 Sectional hives 10 Sections and supers 10 Bee way v. plain sections 10 Dimensions of sections 11 Supers 12 The method of support 12 Protection 13 Free communication within the super 14 The use of separators 15 Shallow extracting supers 16 Combination supers 16 Other apparatus 16 Preparing supers 17 Folding sections 17 Fastening foundation in sections 17 Manipulation of the bees 18 Securing workers for the honey flow 20 Building up the colony in the early spring 21 The production of gathering bees 22 Providing sufficient stores 23 Providing available brood-rearing space 23 Summary 24 Using available workers to best advantage during the honey flow 25 Swarming 26 Preventive measures 26 Control measures 27 Control of natural swarms 28 Using the removed brood to best advantage 29 What to use in the brood chamber when hiving swarms 32 Extreme contraction of the brood chamber when hiving swarms 33 Swarm control by manipulation 34 Taking the queen from the hive 35 Removing the brood from the hive 37 Separating the queen and brood within the hive 40 Manipulation of the supers 41 Caring for the crop 44 Removing the honey from the hives 44 Care of comb honey 45 Scraping propolis from sections 45 Grading comb honey 46 Packages for comb honey 46 Marketing 47

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page

Fig. 1. A 10-frame hive with comb-honey super and perforated zinc queen excluder 8 2. Perforated zinc queen excluder 9 3. Beeway and plain sections, unfolded 10 4. Plain section in super, showing method of spacing 11 5. Beeway section in super, showing method of spacing 11 6. Square and oblong sections 12 7. The T super 13 8. Super with section holder for beeway sections 13 9. Super with section holder for square plain section 14 10. Super with section holder for oblong plain sections 14 11. Combination super with wide frames for oblong plain sections 15 12. Bee-escape board for removing bees from supers 17 13. Drone and queen trap on hive entrance 28 14. Colony before swarming; supers in place 29 15. Brood placed in hive turned 00 degrees from old entrance 29 16. Hive with brood turned back to 45 degrees from old entrance 30 17. Hive with brood turned parallel to old entrance 30 18. Hive with brood placed on other side of old entrance 31 19. Arrangement of supers 42 20. Shipping cases for comb honey 47

COMB HONEY.

=INTRODUCTION.=

The present tendency in beekeeping is decidedly toward the production of extracted honey rather than of comb honey. The recent activity among beekeepers toward specialization, which necessitates the establishing of out-apiaries, and the rapidly increasing demand for extracted honey are among the factors bringing about this condition. Enormous quantities of honey are now used for manufacturing purposes, and this demand is, of course, solely for extracted honey.

Part 2

If the general public finally becomes convinced of the purity and wholesomeness of extracted honey, this will become a staple article of food. Comb honey to command the higher price--proportionate to the greater cost of production--must justify the extra cost to the consumer by its finer appearance. The consumer of extracted honey is not concerned as to the straightness or finish of the combs in which it was originally stored, but by virtue of its appearance there will probably always be a good demand for the finest grade of comb honey where appearance is the chief consideration. Present tendencies therefore emphasize the desirability of producing comb honey of the most attractive appearance possible.

Well-filled sections of comb honey with delicate white comb and perfect cappings are obtainable only during a rapid honey flow of sufficient duration to insure their completion. The production of comb honey, the appearance of which is sufficient to justify its extra cost, requires a combination of conditions that are peculiar to rather limited areas, outside of which the beekeeper will find it decidedly advantageous to produce extracted honey.

Comb-honey production should not be attempted in localities where the honey flow is very slow or intermittent, where the character of the honey is such that it granulates quickly in the comb while it is on the market, where the honey is dark or "off color," or where honeys from various sources are mixed if these different sources produce honey of different colors and flavors. Local market conditions may of course in some instances be such as to make it seem advisable to produce comb honey in limited quantities in a locality that is not well suited to comb-honey production, but the beekeeper who produces comb honey for the general market should first be sure that his is a comb-honey locality. Even in the best localities during an occasional season conditions are such that it is not possible to produce comb-honey of fine appearance. Some comb-honey specialists find it profitable to provide an equipment for extracted honey for such an emergency. In some cases comb honey is produced only during the height of the season, when conditions are most favorable, extracting supers being used both at the beginning and close of the honey flow.

While the professional beekeeper is thus curtailing the production of indifferent grades of comb honey, bee diseases are rapidly eliminating the careless producers. From the present indications, therefore, it would seem certain that there must be a gradual elimination from the markets of all inferior and indifferent comb honey--grades that must compete directly with extracted honey. This should mark a new era in the production of the beat grades of comb honey in the localities that are peculiarly adapted to comb-honey production. The beekeeper who is thus favorably located will do well to consider the possibilities of future market conditions for a fancy grade of comb honey.

Tho following discussion is necessarily but a brief outline of modern apparatus and methods and of course can not in any sense take the place of the broad experience necessary in profitable comb-honey production. It is assumed that the reader is more or less familiar with the more general phases of beekeeping. (See Farmers' Bulletin No. 447. This bulletin also contains a complete list of publications of the Department of Agriculture on beekeeping.)

=APPARATUS FOR COMB-HONEY PRODUCTION.=

=Shop and Honey House.=

A building containing storage space for apparatus, a well-lighted and ventilated workshop as well as a honey room, is a necessity in comb-honey production. The arrangement and location of the shop and honey house will depend upon local conditions and circumstances. Tho usual mistake is in constructing those too small. In the North the shop and honey house is usually built over the wintering repository or collar. Since rats or mice would do great damage to the contents of such a storehouse, the construction should be such as to exclude them. If a concrete foundation is used and the sills are embedded in a layer of "green" mortar, no trouble of this kind should be experienced. If a series of out-apiaries are operated for comb honey, the supers, extra hives, etc, are usually kept in one building located near the home of the beekeeper. This serves as a central station and storehouse, the supplies being hauled to and from the apiaries as needed. This building may be supplemented by a very small building at each apiary, though in comb-honey production this is not really necessary.

The honey room should be so located that it will receive the heat from the sun, preferably an upstairs room immediately under the roof. When so located a small hand elevator should be installed for taking the honey up and down. The room should be papered or ceiled inside to keep out insects and to permit fumigation if necessary and should contain facilities for artificially heating in case continued damp or freezing weather should occur before the honey is marketed. The honey room should be provided with ample floor support for the great weight that may be placed upon it.

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