During a good honey flow all except the last supers may be left upon the hives until all or nearly all of the sections of honey are sealed, since (1) there is little trouble from "travel stain" when work is progressing rapidly, (2) all the sections in the super are ready to be sealed at about the same time, and (3) when there are several supers on each hive the one in which the honey is being sealed is at least one super removed from the brood combs.
Toward the close of the honey flow all supers having most of their sections finished should be removed and the sections sorted. The unfinished sections should be graded according to the degree of completion, the various grades placed in supers and given to such colonies as are most likely to finish them. Every effort should be made at this time to contract the surplus apartment, concentrating the work upon the sections nearest completion. All supers in which work has not yet been started should be removed and as soon as possible the surplus apartment of each colony should be reduced to one super. Though little room is necessary during the close of the honey flow, there should always be some room for the storage of new nectar until it is ripened. For such conditions extracting combs are valuable, since, instead of giving the last comb-honey super in which little work would be done, a set of extracting combs may be placed over the sections to afford room for the incoming nectar and comb surface for its ripening.
[CARING FOR THE CROP.]
Removing the Honey from the Hives.
If the honey flow is of considerable duration the major portion of the crop is removed before the flow ceases. At this time the removal of the finished supers is comparatively easy because the bees can readily be driven from them and also because the operator is not hindered in his work by robbing bees. At the close of the honey flow all the supers remaining upon the hives should be removed promptly, since to leave them on would result not only in some of the honey being carried down into the brood chamber but also in badly propolized sections. After the honey flow has ceased, great care should be exercised to keep bees from robbing. The use of bee-escapes ([fig. 12]) greatly facilitates the removal of the honey at any time, but their use is especially desirable in removing the honey remaining on the hives at the close of the honey flow. By their use the honey may be removed and stored in the honey house with little disturbance or excitement among the bees. The supers of honey should of course be taken directly to the honey house or kept well covered[8] from robbers.
[8] Honey from out-apiaries should be loaded for transportation in such a manner that the bees can not get at it, then before the horse is hitched to the wagon the load of honey should be drawn by hand some distance from the apiary if the slope of the ground will permit doing so. If this is not possible the horse may be attached by means of a long rope and the load drawn to a safe distance before the horse is hitched to the wagon.
Before finally storing the supers of honey in the honey room those that are but partly filled may have their sections removed and sorted. The unfinished sections that can not be disposed of at a profit locally are usually put back into supers and the honey they contain is fed to the bees. This feeding is done by simply exposing the supers where the flying bees can have access to them. If there are few supers compared with the number of colonies they should be placed in piles and only a small entrance allowed, since if free access were given to a large number of bees they would tear the combs to pieces. When the bees have finished removing the honey from these unfinished sections the latter may be stored for future use as "bait" sections.
Care of Comb Honey.
In the honey room the supers of honey should be placed in piles in such a manner as to allow a free circulation of air between them. This may be done by "sticking them up" as lumber is piled to dry or by placing alternate supers crosswise. The air in the honey room should be kept as dry as possible. This is usually accomplished by means of a high temperature, the honey room being located on the sunny side of the building or directly under the roof. The windows should be opened only during dry weather. Ventilation of the honey room is of no value except when the air that is admitted contains less moisture than that already present. Otherwise ventilation may be a positive detriment. If a protracted period of rainy or damp weather should occur while the honey is in this storage it may be necessary to use artificial heat to dry the air in the honey room. Any great variation in temperature should be avoided, since it may cause a condensation of moisture on the surface of the cappings which will be absorbed by the honey.