> I can only vouch for personal, anecdotal observations...which means 
> nothing except it's something that works for me.

Same here.

> I'm a firm believer of harvesting early and often.

I used to subscribe that philosophy.  Some beekeepers in Northern 
Saskatchewan used to harvest weekly and dry the nectar mechanically.  They 
claimed 300 pound crops, but as far as I know all those guys are out of 
business.

Personally, I have come to think frequent harvesting can be overdone.  I 
seem to recall that Tibo Szabo concluded that twice a year was optimal, and 
that seems to me to make sense.

Of course, as with everything in beekeeping, "It depends".

If there are varietal honies of some great desirability, or which are bad 
for wintering, getting them off in a timely fashion is prudent.

If the beekeeper is short of supers, then the bees must be harvested before 
they get plugged, and some foundation should be in the outer frames to 
accommodate any misjudgment.

Fast granulating honey should be removed before the weather cools or as 
quickly as practicable.

If a hive does get plugged, it should be harvested down to the brood chamber 
STAT, since they bees may stall due to the honey barrier.

A lot depends on the flow profile locally and beekeeper practices as well.

I have come to believe that harvesting too often can be bad for bee health 
and requires good judgment on the part of the beekeeper.  At some number of 
pulls, what could be beneficial by providing more space and stimulation 
becomes a detriment, due to comb disruption, crushed bees, and potential 
starvation - partial or complete.

It is hard to predict dearths, but wise beekeepers know that a hive should 
never have less than three or four combs of honey and that feeding to repair 
a misjudgment is expensive and no substitute for being prudent when leaving 
adequate stores for the bees when harvesting.

Surveys repeatedly rate starvation as one of the leading causes of colony 
death, far above CCD.

Starvation is usually preventable.






 

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