Harvesting Our Hive’s Honey

Harvest season is upon us and this time of year is a busy one for beekeepers and the bees! The advent of fall has us all preparing for cooler days ahead and the bees are no exception! So what does that mean for our urban beehives?

 

To harvest our honey, the beekeepers from Alvéole used a fume board sprayed with a blend of essential oils and artificial almond extract which creates a smell that the bees don’t like. The bees move away from the smell, allowing the beekeepers to remove the upper boxes of honey and brush any remaining bees away before labelling and sealing our honey box. At this time our team also treats our hive for varroa, which are parasitic mites that can harm the overall health of the colony. The honey was then taken back to the Alvéole warehouse, extracted, and put into jars for us.

Our hive now looks a little different as it is back down to one box tall and onlookers might see some bees congregating on the front entrance – this is because the upper box(es) have been removed. The bees are a little crowded and a little warm, so they are enjoying the fresh air from outside the hive; it happens more on the hot days and will happen less frequently as it gets colder and the population begins to shrink in anticipation of winter. 

 

Next up: deciding what to do with our small batch honey and wax products. Stay tuned for more updates and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us: [email protected]!