When Is Honey Harvested?

BEEKEEPERSTIPS.COM

When is honey harvested? The short answer is when there is honey to harvest! Bees are not like cows, where you milk them at specific times based on a schedule.

The amount of time the bees can be out collecting nectar is really important. Bees need light (mostly) to be able to navigate to flowers. This means that when the Sun is down the bees will not collect nectar.

Foraging Time

Yellow Leaf
Green Leaf
Wavy Line
Squiggly Line

Even if there is Sunlight, it is possible that it is less than 50-55°F. If this is the case, the bees will not be able to venture out of the hives.

Foraging Temperature

Off-white Section Separator
Yellow Leaf
Yellow Leaf
Green Leaf
Squiggly Line

If the temperature is right, and the days are long, we may have a situation where the bees do not have enough workers. It is important to select genetics suited to your climate.

Worker Population

Wavy Line
Off-white Section Separator

Forage – Flowers

You can have a huge beehive, perfect flying temperature, and a really long photoperiod, but if there are no flowers, your bees will not make honey.

Off-white Section Separator

Ok, So We Have Got Through The Bits and Pieces, But When Is Honey Harvested?

Quite simply, honey is harvested when it can be harvested!! This will depend on your management style as well.

If you are a skilled beekeeper, and there is a strong honey flow, you can harvest honey at any time of day. It really does not matter.

When Is A Good Time To Harvest Honey?

Off-white Section Separator
Yellow Leaf
Banner With Dots

ADVICE

So when is honey harvested? When there is honey in more supply than that needed by your bees. Honey in a bottle on your shelf or in a shop is worth more to you than honey taking up space in a hive.

BEEKEEPERSTIPS.COM

Yellow Leaf

For more tips and articles, visit: