We warn new beekeepers not to collect honey from first-year colonies. Unless you take it to the extreme, this is sound advice.

inside: How secretly tasting honey from the first hive can help bees in the long run.

2 new beekeepers

There are two types of first-year beekeepers that I have seen. Those who harvest everything and those who harvest nothing. Each group cannot understand each other.

Over-harvesting can be fatal. If your colony doesn’t have enough food, it can starve or freeze to death. But it’s not just quantity. Bees can become debilitated and malnourished if they rely solely on sugar syrup for long periods of time. And the lack of real honey can even adversely affect the gut microbes that keep bees healthy.

We still have a lot to learn about the complex science of bee nutrition. But one thing we do know for sure is that honey and pollen play an important role in the evolutionary diet of honeybees. These natural foods keep them healthy.

Given that too much honey is dangerous, why do I think beekeepers should taste honey as soon as possible? And it’s not even about bees. It’s about the psychology of beekeepers.

Common Arguments on Both Sides

Those who overharvest often cite economic reasons. They have poured a lot of money into the beekeeping project and they need it back now. Perhaps they don’t realize that allowing colonies to establish can increase honey yields later.

A common excuse is that the bees made so much honey in their first year that they simply had no choice but to harvest it. I’m sure that happens sometimes. But more often than not, these people need to be given sugar syrup during winter shortages, which I believe is a sign of overdose. But we’ll talk about that another time. Today I would like to talk to you about those who are under-harvested.

Meet morticians who have never tasted honey

I run into the undertaker (undertaker?) at least as much as the overharvester. These guys don’t nail me when I suggest they should taste the honey. “No!” they say. “My mentor said I shouldn’t pull the first year! Never! I don’t want to kill bees!”

But who said anything about extraction? I said, “Taste the honey.” Not at all. But the problem is, you can’t get these people to taste the honey any more than you can delay the harvest for other people. So let’s try again here.

Why I Think You Should Taste Honey Today

Let me begin by explaining that there is nothing on earth more sublime than warm honey from a hive. With no tools, no time, no distance between you and the honey, you will experience pure bliss.

Yes, it’s a taste of freshness and sunshine that most people never get to experience, but it’s so much more than that. Floral flavors are combined with the scent of honeycomb and the moist warmth of the bee’s body. It’s further enhanced by the zephyr that the wasp sticks in its face, the rumbling of its wings, and the slightly nasty fear of being stung. All in all, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime exposure.

A jar of extracted honey cannot recreate this experience. You can’t replicate this feeling in your home or 50 feet away from your nest. No, a fully immersive event takes place in Stingsville. This is non-negotiable. An absolute must try.

how? Well, next time you’re inspecting a nest and you accidentally break a few nests, stick your finger in the sticky dirt and lick it clean. If rubbing the varicomb causes leaks, try it. If you separate two crates and drips occur, address them immediately. “Harvest” is not included in this. It’s more like the opportunistic foraging my dog ​​does when he finds a fragrant carcass.

don’t keep bees from far away

I know a lot of beekeepers who lost all their bees and all their honey during the first winter despite rejecting even the slightest taste. Many of them quit and are part of the 80% who quit in his first two years.

Of course, those who have tasted honey also have losses. But those precious moments when the warm, oozing sweetness hits your tongue make them irresistible. (In my informal opinion) Tasters are likely to try again next year.

Sheer sensory overload forces tasters to become better, more informed and more educated beekeepers. They will read more and study harder. Eventually they will become skilled beekeepers. why? Because they know what’s really at stake.

Its evocative sample call could lure you into a mission to do all you can for your bees. All.

That’s why I believe stealing the taste of honey early on is the best thing you can do for your colony’s long-term health. It is a key moment in forging a bee-honey-producing partnership and an inseparable bond with nature.

Well then, please. Ask your bees to steal a taste of their honey today.

Rusty
honeybee suite