Hello All,
I have really been enjoying the posts on the production of comb honey.  I
don't consider myself an expert in comb honey production and probably will
not produce in a life time the number of RR sections that Allen produced in
one season.  I would like to emphasize the importance of two items that were
already discussed.  Young queens and a reduced brood area, (i.e. single or
single and med.).  A good friend and neighbor routinely produces in excess
of 5000 RR sections each year.  I have discussed his method with him a
number of times and upon analysis the key to his success is the young queen
and smaller brood area.

I produce both RRs and regular cut comb.  All my cut comb is package as
"chunk honey" in jars with liquid honey.  In the market I serve this is the
best seller.  If I was starting all over in beekeeping I would focus more on
comb honey.  Two reasons for this.  One, I agree with Aaron and Lloyd,
producing comb honey makes you a better beekeeper.  Two, I like keeping
bees, not extracting honey.  The "thrill of the new crop" goes away after
the first 500 lbs.  Handling comb honey is much easier on the back all the
way around.

I don't use excluders because I am never successful with them, not because
they don't work.  What I have found is  RR super makes a good excluder for
comb production.  I put a RR above the brood chamber and then put my comb
honey supers above.  I will get nice comb with out any problems with queen
getting up and laying in them and a  nice super of RR sections.  DO NOT TRY
THIS WITH EXTRACTING SUPERS OF DRAWN COMB.  The bees will completely ignore
the RR super.

I have found it is very rare for the queen to lay in the RR super.
Occasionally there may be a communication hole in one or two of the
sections,  or I will find a few drone cells on the bottom.  These are cut
out and the sections are used by us.  I am still a believer that if there is
some drone brood in brood chamber this is much less likely to occur.  IMHO a
colony needs to raise some drones.  If we restrict this by only giving them
worker foundation, they will just raise drones somewhere else. If you use a
single shallow frame in the hive body they will draw out drone comb on the
bottom.  This can also be removed as a varroa trap.

As to eating comb honey, I for one agree that there is nothing better.  I
sell directly to the public at a farm market.  It is amazing the number of
folks that have no concept as to how honey is stored by the bees.  They have
never seen a piece of honeycomb.  I have been asked more than once if there
were bees inside.  My answer is always, "No way, bees are much to valuable
to give away."  It is a great lead in for telling folks the true value of
honeybees.

One last comment.  The strangest request I ever had came from a customer for
a section of comb honey.  He was a hunter and had full body mount of a black
bear that he shot.  He wanted to encapsulate the comb in clear plastic and
place it on a log in the display with the bear.  I asked him if he was
interested in some smashed hive bodies to go with it.

Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, (eastern) PA, USA







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