# Banding Comb with honey



## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

It seems in the few cut outs I have helped with and one solo, the comb with honey was just removed and placed in either a 5 gallon bucket or ice chest. Reasoning was that when you cut the comb the honey inside would just make a mess in a hive box. You would then have a major mess issue and likely bees sticking to it and dying (or attracting robbers). But it seemed there was some we could have carefully removed and placed in frames. Just thought it was not worth it.

But what if you make some type of frame rack that would sit in either ice chest or plastic tote type container. You then could make a few careful cuts to make the comb fit the frame fairly tightly and then band it in. I was thinking by placing this honey comb in this sealable container, I could let the honey drip off the frame for a day or two and then install in a super on the bees new home. It would still be sticky but after two days, most of the running honey would be dripped off. I figure the bees would then lick all the sticky goo off and attach the comb to the frame permanently. One less frame of comb for them to make and fill.

Anyone try this, or is it a waste of time.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

It will work if you have a very large number of bees. It will still make somewhat of a mess, but, with adequate number of bees they can take care of it. 

Early in the season, and during a good honey flow, the bees are able to make honey faster and likely will not need to be fed the honey you gather. Later in the year and after the last flow is over, anything you can give them will help.

My advise, Early season, don't band it. Sit it out away from the hives and let them rob out what they want. Late season, you don't have a lot to lose by banding and trying to save them.

cchoganjr


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

I will band everything I possibly can during the cutout proceedure. The bees will clean the hive up in a matter of a few days like they have been there all along.
The good unbandable pieces of comb honey typically revert back to the homeowner.


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## DLMKA (Feb 7, 2012)

Old, black brood comb full of honey bands in okay but new, white wax is impossible, don't even bother.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Not impossible, just difficult.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Never tried it, but doesn't sound like a waste of time to me. I just try to cut honey combs to size and band them in frames, particularly on late season cutouts, they will need all the honey they can get. However, I also use IPK bottom boards so if there is excessive run off it falls in the tray underneath, which can then be cleaned.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

To me, it is not so much a waste of time as it is, "How much work can the bees do, and still protect their new hive." 

In a cutout, you have totally disrupted the hive, and their first priority will be to take care of brood, move honey and pollen into the brood nest, and last, to bind together honey stores. All the time that the bees are taking care of survival techniques, that honey above them continues to drip, is a great place for small hive beetles, and the open honey is an invitation to robbing, because the cut-out bees are not yet established.

I would caution people to not overwhelm the bees with honey stores to knit together onto the frame, and have excess honey to guard. If you have lots of bees, O.K.. Otherwise I would proceed with caution on giving them large amounts of rubber banded honey comb.

cchoganjr


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## jimsteelejr (Sep 21, 2012)

We have done a lot of cut outs. We generally try to get one or two frames of brood banded in and usually there is honey in the comb surrounding the brood. We usually don't put the extra comb in the new hive. We bring it back and sort it. The clean capped honey we keep for persona use (we never sell any wild collected honey) and the rest we lay out away from the hives and the bees clean it up. Then we put the wax in our melter.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

Thanks everyone. May have one cut this week. Hate to wipe out all their stores, but the tree is coming down anyways. May try and band up a free big pieces if I can save any big pieces. Rest will feed to bee throughout our warm days during the winter.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

I would second jimsteelejr's approach. 

Very experienced beekeepers like David, and Mr Beeman would know how much the bees can take care of, and how much to band. Beginners and the less experienced should proceed with caution, not to overwhelm the new hive.

cchoganjr


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Marshmasterpat, I wasn't suggesting you put the honey on top of the brood and bees, but I think it is well worth putting some in the box with the cutout, I always do, especially in October. You can always reduce the entrance to a minimal or put on a robber screen. Are you talking about something like a frame holder or something inside the frame itself?


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

Not sure yet of the wisdom of this--but I helped a friend who had a swarm move into an empty hive box; no frames. We didn't realize how soft the comb was until we started. It was a mess. We framed up the brood with rubber bands and it had nectar stores too. The top of the combs were capped honey. We found the queen, clipped her and released when we had the frames all set in the box. We put the honey comb in a cake pan, put that on top of the inner cover, then an empty medium and lid. Entrance reducer on smallest opening, I text her Monday and today asking how do things look. 

We did this on Sunday, so far no robbing and she said bees coming and going like normal. There is a flow going on right now, both Brazillian Pepper and Melaluka.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

Well my first cut out by my self, I tried to save some comb with honey. There was some good black stuff that was well capped. I banded it and placed it in an ice chest for two days and was planning to put it back in the super. But I had mashed it enough of it that it was just a mess. So I just put the comb in a partial miller feeder and let the hive clean it out. They have transferred it back into the comb. 

But on a nice cut out (not in a 4 to 9 inch hollow going through about 7 foot of the tree) there is often some nice dark comb that is straight enough that I was thinking maybe it could be reused to keep the bees feed during the fall/winter. 

So after reading Cleo's early am post today, I made a frame holder that fits in a plastic tote container. Holds 7 frames vertical like in a hive and has them off the floor of tote about 2 inches. Hoping I could cut comb to fit firmly in the frame, rubber band it and then place it in the tote. Hoping it would let most the running honey drip off and then after a day or two I could look at placing it directly in the hive, one at a time. Let the bees clean it up and reattach.

Field - Thank for mentioning that, cause that is exactly what I originally was thinking. All that dripping honey down on the brood would not be been good.


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