On inspection day, I start out all excited and end by seriously asking myself if keeping bees is worth all this. Yes, really. I’m suited up from head to toe. It’s 10am and already super hot and humid. I’m wearing a swim suit under my bee suit in prep for stripping the suit off and jumping in the pool. I gather all my tools and head to the hives. Step one is fighting with my smoker. Ugh I hate that thing. Once I finally have it lit and smoking, I begin inspecting the hives. I’m trying to remember all the things I need to do, while also trying not to piss off the bees too much. I do not want to get stung today. Oh, my smoker went out, so I fight with it again. I’m not strong, so I struggle to slowly and gently lift and move boxes that easily weigh anywhere from 40 to 80 pounds. I manage it, but my back and shoulders are going to remind me tomorrow. I’ve pulled 4, 5, maybe 6 frames looking for good and bad things. Ugh, stupid smoker is out again. I check the beetle traps and replace them if necessary. I realize I need to buy more beehive parts, and spend more money on these bugs. Sweat is dripping and stinging my eyes. I’m sweating so much, my leather beekeeping gloves are getting soaked through. I feel so gross. Even my leather shoes are getting soaked. And I’ve only been out here for 15 minutes. By the time I’m finished doing all the things on two hives, I am dehydrated and exhausted and probably kinda frustrated. I strip off my bee suit and jump in the pool to cool off, then sit in a lounge chair and contemplate if this is all worth it. I remind myself, I love bees. I love bees. I LOVE BEES. Yeah, it’s real work. And during the Florida summer, it’s miserable hot work. But I do it because I love my bees.

Another inspection done. Here’s the report: Both hives look good. Hive 1 looks particularly good. Really full and lots of honey and brood. But omg so much honey. And so many bees. It’s so full, I’m considering a split. But I’ll worry about that later. Hive 2, is not quite as full, but it has a ton of brood, so their numbers are going up too. Hive 2 is also considerably crankier. Eggs in both hives. I don’t even bother trying to find the queens anymore.

Things look good, but it’s time to treat for mites again, just as general maintenance. So it’s time to remove both honey supers for the 6 week treatment period. Hive 2 hasn’t done a damn thing in their super, but Hive 1 is drawing comb and have made a lot of progress. That’s good. That’s another step towards harvesting honey. Here’s some of their handiwork. Such pretty, fresh, shiny new comb.

I put in the mite treatment strips, finish up things and close everything back up. After my dip in the pool, I’m sitting in a lounge chair thinking… man, that one hive has a lot of honey. I mean, look at this frame. It’s all honey, front and back. This one frame weighs like 8 pounds all by itself and there are more just like it.

Too bad I just started the mite treatment and had to remove the supers. That puts a stop to the honey progress. sigh No honey for me…

Wait. WAIT A SECOND.

So I’m sitting there all cooled off now after finishing the inspection and then it dawns on me. I just started mite treatment. And I’m feeding the girls. And they have A LOT of honey. And there are a lot of bees in there, they need more room. I… could… take a frame of honey.

So I suited up again. And lit my smoker again for the hundredth time today. I pulled that frame of honey out again and looked at it closely. I think this one is mostly real nectar honey. The sugar syrup frames are a different color, lighter. This is rich amber honey. It’s probably mostly real nectar honey. Hmmmm. Hey girls, remember those THREE stings you gave me 2 weeks ago? This is what you get. I’m taking this honey.

Speaking of, last time I told you I got stung on my finger. And that my hand would look like a baseball mitt the next day. Yeah… this is after 24 hours. Baseball mitt.

It swelled all the way up to my elbow. The swelling went back down after three days, but man… I hate stings on my hands. And then a few days later, I got zapped twice in the leg when I was just feeding them. I deserve some honey!

Ok.. some beekeepers out there are saying no, don’t take honey from the brood box! But guys hear me out. This hive is full of honey, they have plenty. Plus I’m feeding them anyway. They’ll be fine. They don’t need this frame. And these are my hives and I can if I want to. I’ve given these girls a whole year. Oh yeah, did I mention that I’ve passed our 1 year anniversary? August 4th. So happy anniversary to me, I’m taking some honey!

I smoked the bees off the frame of honey and took it inside. Then just looked at it. Um, I did not plan to harvest honey any time soon and I have no honey harvesting tools at all. But people have been doing this for centuries. I can do this.

I scraped the comb off the frame, squeezed it out and then double strained the honey through some nylon mesh.

This was a good frame. It’s pretty and a nice amber color. It is sweet with floral notes. Sometimes the honey from the brood box can be kinda bitter, but this is yummy. There may be some sugar syrup in it, but I don’t think there’s enough to worry about. There was absolutely no larvae, and there is some, but not too much, pollen. Nope, I don’t regret my decision.

Here is the frame after I was finished with it. I’ll put it back in the box during the next inspection. They will lick it clean and begin building comb again.

I’ll try rendering the wax down and cleaning it. I have no idea how to do that, but I’ll try and see what happens. If anything, I’ll have some beeswax to coat the hives with.

So. How much honey did I get from one frame, using whatever tools I could find, and my totally non professional “winging-it” approach to harvesting?

FIVE POUNDS!!!

It’s beautiful. I am astounded that I got 5 pounds from one frame. I imagine all newbie beekeepers feel this way after their first harvest. So I took it from the brood box, but whatever. That. Was. Awesome. Most beekeeper do not sell honey from the brood box. It’s difficult to control the quality of this honey. It’s generally only for personal use, or for feeding back to the bees during a nectar dearth or during winter. I will save it and put it away for the girls to use later, and also use some in my tea because I can.

So. Is beekeeping worth it? Yes.

And not because of the honey. It’s because of the bees. The most important creature on the planet. That’s what I tell myself every time I’m all sweaty and miserable and achy and tired and dealing with bee stings. Bees are that important. 🐝