Waiting for the bees to cap the honey.

[Bob Wilson]

It seems like my hives take a long time to cap honey. Last year it was mid August (in middle Georgia) before they finally capped the combs. That is almost two months past the END of the honey flow and into the dearth. This year it seems it will be the same. It is almost the end of July and I have half capped frames of nectar.
1. I wonder if the air is harder to move to the back of a long hive, where the honey is stored.
2. I wonder if the humid air is harder to expel in a long hive, rather than rising upward because of the chimney effect in a standard langstroth hive.
2. I keep top entrances on my hives, mostly to help get rid of moist, hot air.
But then I realize that even standard hive beeks have trouble getting honey capped sometimes, as this thread shows.
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=34091.0

[Ben Framed]

I don't really know Bob. Maybe a combination of factors? The theories you posted in reply 1 and 2, along with some points, suggestions, and some of the theories in the link you posted?

One thing is for sure, if we inquire, we should advance in knowledge! Keep up the positive, solid, inquisitive post! You make us think!


Phillip

[BeeMaster2]

Bob,
Where is the opening on these hives? What is next to it? Do you have a screen bottom? Bees roll the air in the hive to aid in cooling and drying. Screen bottoms help, screen tops do not. I run all screen tops and keep the top insulated, not wide open.
The location of the entrance is important if you don?t have screen bottoms. They need to bee able to roll the air past the entrance. Some people use three holes, entrances, on the side instead of the ends. This leaves an opening that is between two frames that allows air to roll past. It also helps if they leave a gap between the edge of the frame and the wall with the opening.
Jim Altmiller

[Bill Murray]

Bob, I realize you run longs, but my 2 cents anyway.
So, one issue may be we are pulling said honey on OUR schedule not the bees schedule, we are also in a management sense maybe adding more nectar storage room than that hive may have naturally. So they just naturally would have swarmed multiple times and taken stores with them.

A lot of it has to do with temp., humidity, on any given flow.
Also if the flow stops wax gland use diminishes.
And if you gave those bees drawn comb, way more than they could ever draw, they are just packing the nectar away. Its what they do.
And if you started feeding those said bees early, and have a huger than normal field force bringing that nectar in it seems to reason with all above said. the hive may have an issue capping All of it on our schedule.