# Comb Honey Strategy



## jrtrapper (May 2, 2008)

*comb*

While I have yet to make comb honey,I have been told to oversuper your comb supers as in put comb supers over filled or partially filled supers.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>If you regularly produce comb honey, I'd be interested to hear about the things you do to keep brood and pollen out of your supers.

7/11

http://go.netgrab.com/secure/kelleystore/asp/product.asp?product=114

It won't keep pollen out (nothing will) but it will keep the brood out.


----------



## John Gesner (Dec 17, 2005)

Michael Bush said:


> 7/11
> 
> http://go.netgrab.com/secure/kelleystore/asp/product.asp?product=114
> 
> It won't keep pollen out (nothing will) but it will keep the brood out.


Michael, I know you're a pretty busy guy, but could I get just a wee bit more information? Kelley's doesn't say what this stuff is or how it works or how it's different from thin foundation (if it is).

In the meantime, I'll do a little searching on my own...

Thanks.


----------



## Jim Fischer (Jan 5, 2001)

I've made comb honey for a while. Nearly two decades.
Lots - at least 100 colonies a year dedicated to it in spring.

If using Ross Rounds or Hogg Cassettes, it is rare to see the queen
move up into and start laying in the comb honey supers. If you
are producing "cut comb" (thin surplus in regular frames) then you
can have the queen moving up.

The random cell of pollen in the honey supers is not worth worrying
about, as the pollen tends to be stored in the brood chamber, and
any other location is nothing but the sort of random insanity you
can't stop at all.

If you want to be 100% certain, queen excluders are one way to go,
and caging the queen during flow is another. I can say that caging
the queen has multiple advantages, in that it also frees up house
bees for comb drawing and honey processing, and does not "waste"
nectar on bees that won't be foragers until after the blooms (or,
as I like to call it "feeding freeloader bees"). But it requires a
great deal of knowledge about when the blooms will happen in
your area, and a willingness to pump up a colony to a significant
population, and THEN go find the queen. Not for everyone. 

There are a number of different approaches to making comb honey,
so reading any of the books by Richard Taylor, or reading the
"Jupiter Hill Split" method documented by Hogg, is a very good idea.
No one has the time to re-write those books here for you.


----------



## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

How about a queen excluder?

Even w/ an excluder they will sometimes put a little pollen in the comb honey supers but I find that it only happens occasionally. 

I use excluders.


----------



## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

*7-11*

this is regular thickness foundation but in a size that (most) queens won't lay in. i've used it for years but have found its not absolutly necessary.


----------



## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

I did pretty good one year just doing foundationless on a strong hive during a good flow. I think a strong, slightly crowded hive and a strong flow are required in any case.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Actually it's thin surplus foundation or at least surplus. It's made for comb honey. It's 5.6mm which is large enough the queen thinks its too big for worker and too small for drones so she doesn't lay in it.


----------



## NeilV (Nov 18, 2006)

*just wondering*

Why is it called "surplus" foundation, and what's the difference between "surplus" and "thin surplus"?

ndvan


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

It's "surplus" because it's so thin that you get "surplus" (more) sheets from a pound of wax. "Thin surplus" is even thinner than "surplus". It's for comb honey so you have a thinner midrib.


----------



## John Gesner (Dec 17, 2005)

Thanks, Michael. I got this response from Kelley also:

Dear Friend John:

Yes! Our Special 7/11 Comb Foundation is designed
for comb honey production when not using a queen
excluder. The cells are milled a bit larger than brood
cells byt smaller than drone cells. The Queen does not
like to lay in the 'odd' cell shape and, therfore, is more likely
to remain in you brood chamber boxes, rather than lay
her eggs in the supers. However, keep in mind, nothing
is fool proof!! If you choose to use the queen Excluders
between your top brood chamber and your super, you can
us the comb foundation sheets with the standard cells.
(Cat. No. 138 or No. 140) (Queen excluders are not
fool proof either.)

Mary K/ 
The Walter T. Kelley Co., Inc.


----------



## John Gesner (Dec 17, 2005)

Jim Fischer said:


> There are a number of different approaches to making comb honey,
> so reading any of the books by Richard Taylor, or reading the
> "Jupiter Hill Split" method documented by Hogg, is a very good idea.
> No one has the time to re-write those books here for you.


Thanks, Jim. My reading time is during the winter. And right now I've got a hive that I'm trying to run comb honey on. I have several regular customers who really like cut comb, and I've got a line on some restaurateurs who are showing interest for presentation in special dishes. 

Just out of time and looking for some quick answers.


----------



## NeilV (Nov 18, 2006)

Thanks, I knew what it was for, but I could not figure out why they called it surplus.


----------

