Howdy fellow bee enthusiasts. I am very new to the hobby, purchasing 2 flow hives recently that were already up and running (apparently). I opened one up today to find it mostly full of honey and wax everywhere.
I have a few questions.
4 flow frames in middle produced lots of delicious honey with no seen issues.
The 2 end frames - one was slimy so assume infestation of shb and the other was full of “junk”. Both had shb larvae so I disposed of all the honey from these 2 frames.
When I took the lid off the bees had setup shop in the lid - see picture. Is this normal and what should I do.
Lastly, I think I want to clean all the flow frames and start again. Can I do all 6 at once or should only do a few at a time to not upset the bees.
Pictures of honey, and what was in it to follow as only allowed one pic in my post.
May I appeal to the moderators @Isobella_Matthews and Flow team? Discourse has flagged this user, but the post looks genuine to me.
A good assumption, and the larvae in your photo look like SHB to me. Clean those frames really well, as bees hate the smell of fermenting honey that the SHB cause. Also consider freezing the frames for 48 hours before replacing on the hive. This will kill off any SHB eggs in the frames. I would suggest not eating that honey - the fermentation makes it smell bad to me.
It is normal when they have run out of space. It means that it is time to harvest to give them more space. You will want to remove the comb up there though, because if you leave it, they will use it. You can either eat it as a comb honey, or crush and strain it for honey and render the wax. Look for signs of SHB though, if present, you will probably not want to eat that honey, and the bees won’t want it either. If you have a spare roof, you can just switch them over while you clean up the “used” one. If not, a piece of plywood to cover the hive will be fine for a day or two, until you can get the cleaned roof back on the hive.
If they are full of honey, just empty 2 per day, or you may flood the hive if the frames leak (which they often do). Once they are empty, you can take the whole super off for a day or two while you clean and freeze the frames. If there is still a nectar flow, they can manage a couple of days without the super, but you need to be prompt. If the nectar flow is over in your region, then you can take your time.
