Capped Honey! Not Honey Bound

Matt was worried that his bees had brought in so much nectar and stored it in the brood chambers, that there was no room for the queen to lay her eggs. A beekeeper told us the term for that was "honey bound." He added another honey super (which made three) and hoped that the bees would move the food stores around so the queen would have more room to lay. He also took out one full deep frame that was full of capped honey and replaced it with an empty frame for them to draw out. He wrapped the frame in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. This allows him to be able to feed this food to his bees this fall, while enabling them to have a new empty frame for more brood. Adding the third honey super worked out well because the bees did move lots of the nectar and pollen to make room down in the brood chamber.

The capped honey in the deep super that we put in the freezer. It was capped on both sides.

The bees cleaned the cells out to make room for brood.

We found out a way to get the bees to draw out the comb faster on the plastic frame. You melt some beeswax and using a foam brush, paint wax onto the frame. This just gives them a head start and encourages them to work on it. 

With more wax painted on

Frame with plastic comb

The bees are really going after it and they have capped honey in the honey super too! 

We also got some frame grippers. The frames are getting really heavy with all the nectar and bees! These help to hold the frame up with a bit less effort and awkwardness. 

And here below is a great example of a tight brood pattern in the middle of the frame and and capped honey on the sides and top. This is how the bees and the queen organize the food and the larvae.