Here at PerfectBee, we generally do not recommend harvesting honey from any first-year colony, whether a newly installed package, nuc, or swarm. Many beekeepers just starting out in the spring are excited for the upcoming honey they hope to harvest from their beehives. However, keep in mind that harvesting honey from your bees too soon can put them in a very bad spot, even if it seems like they have a lot of honey already stored. A newly established colony has less time to build out frames of comb and fill them with resources that worker bees spend time and energy collecting. Bees need ample honey stores to be able to survive the winter months, even in warmer climates.
By the way, our recently answered Q&A “Will I need to feed my bees?” covers the reasons that you may need to feed your newly installed colonies… but its comprehensive overview also expands on the reasons that it’s important not to take too much honey from a newly installed honeybee colony, either.
Typically, honey is harvested in late summer to early fall, but only when the following conditions are met:
- The colony hive is fully established (and was not newly installed earlier the same year) and is healthy and strong
- Honeycomb cells on a frame of honey have at least 80% of cells fully capped (ensuring a low enough moisture content)
- Bees will have 60-80lb of honey left for winter AFTER anything is harvested
Helping your honeybee colony in building up their resources to become more established and healthier/stronger is MUCH more important than an early honey harvest, especially since taking honey away from bees who really need it could lead to you needing to feed emergency carbohydrate sources, like candy boards, through the winter. In dire circumstances, a lack of stored honey can cause bees to starve and perish.
Read More
The Tangible Rewards of Beekeeping
A Closer Look at How Bees Make Honey
An Introduction to Harvesting Honey (Part 1)
An Introduction to Harvesting Honey (Part 2) *
Making Money with Beekeeping *
* Colony Member-Only Content
Related Products in the PerfectBee Store
If you’ve read through the overview above and feel confident that you’ll be able to harvest honey from your (well-established) honeybee colony this season, check out our honey extraction and processing products below!
