Hive not capping honey...?

[Aroc]

We currently have about 10 hives or so.  We have one in particular that population wise does very well.  The queen is about 3 years old and doing well.  No complaints really except this hive seems to be slow at capping honey.  It?s a bit frustrating as she will keep a frame 1/2 to 3/4 capped and the remaining she won?t cap for weeks if at all. 

The hive has good ventilation...at least I think so.  Bottom and top entrance and we have even moved the boxes a bit to allow air to move more freely.

Any ideas?  Really don?t seem to have this problem with our others.

[TheHoneyPump]

If you are planning to harvest, uncapped is a very nice thing!
Perhaps look at the ambient conditions right around this one hive. Is it in shaded area, a low area, a stale area.  Look for possible causes of high humidity micro-climate right around the hive.  Try relocating it, even just 10 steps in the same yard, to see if anything changes.

[paus]

Back on my soapbox. In humid climates even in NE Texas bees need ventilation.  Therefore DSBB and Top Screens,  Jim, The shavings left in the screen top  .are working great.  This helps the bees get the honey moisture down so they can give it their "CAP" of approval. 

[Vance G]

Although you are on the warmer wetter side of the mountains than I, I doubt humidity is your problem.  When I turn the AC on I do not open all the windows to help the air conditioner circulate the air.  I rely on the machinery as the bees instinctually choose a cavity with one rather small entrance to aid them in creating strong ventilation.  So please do not fall for the SBB shibboleth or any of the other venting schemes, they do not help the bees! 

A more probable cause of the bees not capping that honey, is that floral source is no longer available and bees do not mix varieties of honey in the same cell.  When apple blossoms, dandelion, or caragana for examples are over, large areas of comb may be all but filled and capped but with no additional honey of that variety coming in, the bees just never cap those cells.  Here in my high dry desert, that honey gets so darn dry I sometimes have to inject steam into the extractor to get it to flow out of the cells and extract.  The best guide line remains a good shake of the upside down frame.  If nothing comes out, the honey is cured and ready to extract. 

[CoolBees]

Vance G - that is an excellent analysis. Personally - I did not know why the bees don't cap some honey(s). I was reluctant to extract some because it wasn't capped. And your right of course - its hard to know [for a beginner] what is nectar, and what is cured honey. I finally came to the same conclusion that you posted - "if it doesn't drip or run when upside-down and shaken, then it's ready" ... but I was still lacking the "why". Thanks for sharing that. ... but I didn't want to ask - glad somebody did. ...  Cheers!

... this is one of the many reasons why I respect (and am thankful for) the people who post here .... vs other options available to a learnin' beek'. ... just sayin' ...