Honey From Dead Hives

[Corliss]

I am starting a third season as a beekeeper and lost three of my four hives this winter.  We had a very harsh February and many people in this area lost hives. My question is about the capped honey frames I'm finding while cleaning out the supers,  I'm not sure what to do with these as I don't have room in the freezer for all those frames.  I treated with Mite Away strips in late August and am also wondering if this capped honey might not be okay to eat.  I also fed unmediated syrup during the fall.  I'm concerned if I don't get the honey frames off that ants will soon take over.  Already my remaining hive has found their way to the one hive I didn't completely seal off and they are taking it.  Any suggestions would be welcome.

[Ray]

I know nothing about miticide, honey and human consumption.
Over-wintered honey usually crystallizes and separates, making it very difficult to extract or crush and strain.
I am presently, feeding my dead-out honey back to my bees.

[riverbee]

corliss, WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!!

the capped honey frames, did you treat your bees while you had these supers on?  the syrup, are these in the frames? is it capped? did you treat while you had syrup on?  what miticide did you use?

can better answer your question, but in general, and in my opinion, any colony treated with miticides with supers on or contain capped honey frames that may have miticide residue in them is not fit for human consumption. 

yes, you need to remove these otherwise you will have all sorts of pest problems.  i do store deep frames of capped honey (not syrup), in a very cool, dry outbuilding, in extra boxes with tight fitting bottoms and covers.  you can also use a plastic tub with a tight fitting lid in a cool dry area. you can use these to feed back to the bees at some point unless you treated with a miticide with them on, then i would not use these as feed to the bees.

[Corliss]

I used Mite Away strips which are formic acid and supposedly leave no residue. They are left on for seven days, then removed.  And I don't think there was this amount of capped honey/syrup present when the treatment was done.  But if it was and I understand you correctly, it sounds like it is completely unusable for anything. 

How do I tell the difference between honey and syrup in the frames when it is capped?

Thanks for your help!

[iddee]

I put each super in a large plastic trash bag and seal it with duct tape. Then I freeze it for 3 to 4 days. After that, it can be stored anywhere it is safe from mice and cool. You can freeze one super at a time if that's all the room you have in the freezer, then you have your freezer space back afterward.

Yes, if formic acid is what you used, you can eat the honey or feed it back. If it is partly syrup, it will still be fine for either. Just don't sell it as pure honey. I have eaten "sugar syrup honey" and can't tell the difference.

[riverbee]

corliss,
i have not used mite away strips (formic acid), those that have can possibly better answer your question, with regards to using it while you have honey supers on or are feeding syrup to the bees and whether or not to feed it back to the bees, personally, any honey supers left on while treating with a miticide i would not consume, sell to a customer, or feed back to the bees, that's just me. 

if and when i treat my bees, no honey supers are on and no syrup is on.

what is your setup? single deep with medium supers left for winter, double deep with super/s left for winter?  when did you treat? and how many frames were on at the time of treatment?  did you add the syrup after treatment?

EDIT AND ADD,
iddee replied as i was posting.

[Perry]

MAQS are the only product that can be used (legally) to battle varroa with honey supers on the hive during treatment (here in Canada).
You should not harvest any of the honey until 10 or (?) 14 days after treatment is finished. If at all possible I would be inclined to store it as others have suggested and put it to use when you need it.

[pistolpete]

sounds like you need to order some packages quick.  All those frames would give them a very fast start.

[kebee]

 welcome Corless to the forum, thank you have gotten some good answers here, enjoy your stay.

Ken

[riverbee]

i would like to clarify a comment i posted about not feeding bees back frames of honey/syrup while miticide treatments are on. i have not used all the miticides that are 'supposedly' safe with supers on or when feeding syrup. i have only used miticides that explicitly in the directions say, no supers, no syrup on......two of those are api-guard and api-life-var, and the directions for both of these also state not to harvest any honey from the brood chambers with these miticides on.  when we treat for mites, just be sure to read and follow the directions for the specific treatment being used.

corliss said she used formic acid, so i would follow perry's advice.