Welcome back! Today is a massive milestone for the Bee Sanctuary. We are finally harvesting honey from my very first hive—the one that started this entire journey from 3 to 300. This colony was my biggest teacher; we rescued them in Kyalami, and they’ve been the benchmark for everything I’ve learned about beekeeping in Johannesburg.

The Queen Excluder Experiment

In this hive, I decided to test a queen excluder to see if it would help keep the brood and honey separate. While I’ve moved away from using them in my other production hives after chatting with some local experts, I was curious to see if this colony had successfully moved up into the super.

The verdict? Success! We opened the super to find beautiful, full frames of capped yellow honey. It’s an incredible feeling to see the results of months of rescue work and hive maintenance finally turn into a harvest.

Sustainable Harvesting

While it’s tempting to take it all, I’m being careful:

• The Yield: We pulled out several heavy frames of capped honey, but I’ve left four frames behind for the bees. It’s vital to ensure they have enough resources to stay strong, especially if the nectar flow fluctuates.
• The Replacement: We swapped the harvested frames for new super frames with wet foundation sheets.
• Lessons in Foundation: I realized mid-process that I should have placed the empty foundation frames in the middle of the box rather than the outside. This encourages the bees to build out the wax much faster and gives the queen immediate space if she needs it.

Reflection on the Journey

Looking back at that first removal video, I realize how far we’ve come. This hive is thriving, and seeing that vibrant yellow honey is all the motivation I need to keep pushing toward our 300-hive goal.

Want to see the extraction process for this harvest?

I’ll be using my DIY bucket system to process this liquid gold. Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss the “crush and strain” video!

Beekeeper’s Debate: Do you swear by queen excluders, or do you let the queen have the run of the whole hive? Let’s discuss the pros and cons in the comments below!

How should we proceed? Would you like a step-by-step video of the honey extraction, or should we head out for a new spring swarm rescue?