How to Collect Honey From Beehives

This guide will show you how to collect frames filled with honey from beehives.

Step 1: Start by Slowly Lifting the Lid of the Beehive.

Remove and place next to the hive.

If there's honeycomb on the lid place upside down.

Remove any covers from the frames.

Step 2: Apply Smoke to the Hive.

Using a BeekeepingClaw/Scraper gently lift one end of the frame, then slowly and gently life the over end.

Once you're able to grip the frame lift up, try your best not to knock the honeycomb.

Step 3: This Frame Is Full of Honey and Ready to Be Collected.

Shake off any bees.

You'll know the frame is full of honey and ready to collect when the honeycomb is capped with white wax.

The honey will have the correct moisture content.

Place in a collecting box and replace the frame within the hive.

Step 4: This Is an Example of a Frame That Isn't Quite Ready.

The honeycomb towards the bottom hasn't been capped.

Step 5: Repeat Until You've Collected All the Frames.

Carefully place the lid on the hive.

In our next video/Instructable, we will cover extracting honey.

Please check out our new series The Bush Bee Man!

Comments

[liquidhandwash]

Thanks for the video. Im new to bee keeping, I bought a hive and caught 2 swarms, and i went to rob my first hive a few weeks ago and noticed there was no honey and hardly any bees in the honeysuper. They would not go through the queen excluder for some reason. I pulled it out and they are all up there now, was that the right thing to do?

[AngusS]

I have the same issue I have 2 different queen excluders and they won’t go through either of them. I have resorted to raiding the odd finished frame and giving them an empty frame to refill. Is this an ok option?

[liquidhandwash]

I ended up getting a metal excluder it has metal wires, way better than the plastic exluder.

[John deCaux]

I would place the queen excluder back in place. It'll take a little longer the for the hive to fill the bottom before moving onto the top and storing honey.

[liquidhandwash]

Thanks, the problem is that the established hive swarmed, and there was no bees or honey on top of the queen excluder so I was at a bit of a lose to know what to do with it. Ill open it up and have another go with the excluder.

[dandre161]

How do I remove the frame without triggering an attack,I smoke out the hive but they still attack when I lift the frame