Treatment free "Letalone" Beekeeping in a ZEST insulated hive - Honey And Wax Harvesting

more info at https://www.thezesthive.com/

Harvesting

This is best done in late August when the honey is mostly sealed.

Crushing the comb and Draining the Honey

It is usual to get 90% of the honey out of the nylon mesh bag on the first day. Manipulate the bag by hand the following day to ensure that all the honey that can drain out has done so. At this point you can feed the contents of the mesh bag back to the bees either in late Autumn for Winter feed or in early spring as a stimulation feed. If you choose not to do so, because there is granulated honey that you wish to harvest, then heat it, to access it as follows.

Heating the Crushed Comb to Harvest the Last of the Honey at 43 degrees

A thermostatically controlled honey heater, some short disposable stockings and a double saucepan is needed with the inner one perforated to allow the heated honey to pass into the outer one for collection.

Heating the Crushed Comb to Harvest the Wax at 63 degrees

Wax has many uses, but none more bee friendly than to melt it again, dipping the top bar of the ZEST frames into it for reuse by the bees. This saves the bees energy that would be needed to make new wax.