# Over wintered honey



## Tmac (Feb 18, 2018)

Hi. I lost my bees this past winter. I have a lot of frames that are full of honey still. I believe mites are my culprit on the kill off. I decided I would try to spin the honey and am now unsure if this is wise. I have very clear good looking honey and entire dark areas. I will post pic of decapped frames. My concern is how I could have light and dark in same frames. Doubt it’s a diff food sources.


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## Jack Grimshaw (Feb 10, 2001)

That is common.The dark honey is from the fall that wasn't consumed over winter and in the spring the bees stored lighter spring honey adjacent to it.

Or,the lighter honey is from the spring,was partially consumed during the midsummer dearth,and the fall honey was stored adjacent.
(see photo. Immediately adjacent to the light honey with the reddish color is knotweed.Goldenrod and aster honey is further away and uncapped )

Or,you fed sugar syrup after the fall flow?

Why do you doubt it is from different food sources?
Monofloral honey is less common unless you're in an ag setting.

The main questions are,is it contaminated with sugar and did you use miticides while it was on the hive.


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Yes you can have lighter and darker honey in the same frame ; however, I have never seen anything like your pics. Those cells are extremely dark and it doesn't have a typical brood pattern which will cause darker cells. 
Any chance you fed sugar water with food coloring? Did brood get raised in those frames? Live next to an A&W root beer plant? How does it taste? J


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

Those frames are odd looking.
I'm more curious about those bubbles. Did your uncapping tool cause them? Are they fermenting, what does it smell like?

Alex


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

Tmac said:


> Hi. I lost my bees this past winter. I have a lot of frames that are full of honey still. I believe mites are my culprit on the kill off. I decided I would try to spin the honey and am now unsure if this is wise. I have very clear good looking honey and entire dark areas. I will post pic of decapped frames. My concern is how I could have light and dark in same frames. Doubt it’s a diff food sources.
> View attachment 70165
> 
> View attachment 70164
> ...


looks good extract away

GG


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## Tmac (Feb 18, 2018)

i wasn’t clear enough in my original post. I lost bees over the winter. It’s now July. The frames have been unattended by bees for 3 to 6 months. No ant or obvious infestations. Though I could possibly save the honey even at this late date. I have spun out 5 gals now and have probably a few more gallons. I have now seen larvae of some sort in my strainers. I have decided I can’t allow it to be consumed in good conscience. The gold honey looks good the black honey has little globs in the cells. No way to separate gold and black. Trying to save equipment and combs. Any uses for this type of honey?
Thanks for the replies


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

it is very likely fine.
the strainer is getting out the larvae of likely wax moth .
the clear honey is fine the globs are likely crystalized honey.

if it tastes ok it is fine for you to consume.

AND the comb will be usable.

find some one who makes mead, and offer them the honey for a "share" of the mead.
could also be used for cooking honey as a sugar substitute.

maybe heat and use for moonshine making.

Last ditch one could advertise for a bear hunter to use it as bait.

GG


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## AR1 (Feb 5, 2017)

I would eat it without qualm. Often eat year 2 honey. Dark comb may be areas that had brood. It can make for a stronger flavored honey.


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## ifixoldhouses (Feb 27, 2019)

Was it capped?


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

It may be an illusion, but in the first pic, in the dark cells next to the clear cells, I think I see larvae. If so, this could be the cause of the bubbles by way of feces causing fermentation.
How were these frames stored prior to extracting?

Alex


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

If it were "fresh" larvae of bees or wax moth, it may be a turn off, but safe to consume. However, if it is larvae that has been decomposing for any time, it is not.
Making a high alcohol mead may/ probably will kill any nasty bacteria, but I wouldn't feel comfortable advising someone that it's safe. To be honest, I would have a hard time disposing of that much honey, and would be tempted to make a mead for my personal consumption. Mothra Mead. J


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## Jack Grimshaw (Feb 10, 2001)

In your first picture upper right,you can see crystalization of the dark honey.That honey is fine.
Honey is a natural product and I don't consider the odd wax moth larva, bee pupa, ant or small hive beetle adult to be a contaminant.
Insects are eaten in many parts of the world.

I draw the line at SHB larvae as the feces contains a yeast that causes fermentation that affects the taste of the honey.


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## jfh00jfh (Jun 20, 2018)

I extracted some honey in June from a hive that died during the Winter. Strained the honey twice as usual; tastes fine; we'll eat it.


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

Tmac said:


> i wasn’t clear enough in my original post. I lost bees over the winter. It’s now July. The frames have been unattended by bees for 3 to 6 months. No ant or obvious infestations. Though I could possibly save the honey even at this late date. I have spun out 5 gals now and have probably a few more gallons. I have now seen larvae of some sort in my strainers. I have decided I can’t allow it to be consumed in good conscience. The gold honey looks good the black honey has little globs in the cells. No way to separate gold and black. Trying to save equipment and combs. Any uses for this type of honey?
> Thanks for the replies


I get Autumn honey frames like that; light is Goldenrod, dark Japanese Knotweed, or Buckwheat, they don’t differentiate by color, they just store it as it comes in. Looks good to me!


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

I don't see any reason to fuss - this is a fine honey where just two different crops ended up on the same frame.
In my area, it is very typical to see early honeys to be light (clovers) and later honeys to be dark (golden rods).
And of course, earlier collected honey will always end up on the top of the frame - this is normal sequence of the honey storage (starting from top and keep adding more downwards).

If you run large frames/long hives - you will see this more easily (since you are more likely to pull a large frame only when it is about full - top to bottom - there will be different honeys mixed on the same frame).
Those who run supers are more used to uniformed honey across entire frame (and then some people assume this is how the honey is to be - else it is bad).
This is ALL normal.

What is the fuss about?
I'd harvest it all and not loose any sleep over it.


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