Detailed Explanation of Honey Production Technology: The Complete Method from Beekeeping to Honey Extraction

Honey production technology includes: honey storage, honey production technology, honey extraction operations, honey processing, and honey applications.
I. Storage of Honey
Proper storage of honey is an important part of ensuring its quality, so during storage, the following issues should be noted:
1. Honey is an acidic, viscous liquid that has a corrosive effect on metals such as zinc, iron, and aluminum, as well as on plastic buckets. To avoid contaminating the honey, metal containers without food-grade coatings and plastic buckets must not be used for storing honey; instead, containers such as glass bottles and ceramic jars should be used.
2. Honey has strong hygroscopicity and odor-absorbing properties, so it must be stored sealed to avoid moisture absorption and fermentation, as well as odor contamination that makes it unpalatable.
3. The vessels used for holding honey must be washed clean under running water before filling, then air-dried before the honey is put in.
4. Honey should be stored at 10°C to 20°C, in a dry, ventilated, cool place without direct sunlight. If conditions permit, it can be kept at a low temperature of 5°C to 10°C. This is because below 10°C, yeast cells stop growing and fermentation ceases, thus effectively preventing honey fermentation and certain changes caused by storage. Honey should not be stored together with items that have volatile odors, such as soap or gasoline, to avoid odor contamination.
II. Honey Production Technology
The main nectar flow period (major honey flow period) is the peak season for beekeeping production. During the major honey flow period, only colonies with a large number of age-appropriate foraging bees (bees older than 2 weeks) and sufficient reserve force (a large amount of sealed brood) can achieve high yields. Therefore, age-appropriate foraging bees must be raised before the major honey flow period, all preparatory work must be done well, and during the major honey flow period, colony feeding and management must be strengthened to create a good living environment and production conditions for the colony.
1. Raising age-appropriate foraging bees: Plant growth and development are affected by accumulated temperature. According to phenology, the flowering and nectar flow period of the main nectar source plants can be predicted based on the flowering period of early-blooming plants. Based on the developmental period of worker bees and the average lifespan of bees, raising age-appropriate foraging bees should be carried out from 51 days before the start of the major honey flow period to 29 days before the end of the major honey flow period. For the first main nectar source in a locality, the period from early spring to one month before the end of the major honey flow period is the time for raising foraging bees for the major honey flow period.
2. Building and repairing combs: During the major honey flow period, a production colony should have at least 18 combs for egg-laying and honey storage. The more empty combs available for honey storage, the more beneficial it is for increasing honey production. These combs should be prepared in advance, and auxiliary nectar sources should be used to build more combs and build them early. This not only increases beeswax production but also reduces swarming fever and encourages the queen to lay more eggs.
3. Raising production colonies: About half a month before the major honey flow period, check the colony strength of production colonies kept at a fixed location. At this time, production colonies should have 10 to 15 frames of brood and more than 15 frames of bees. Such colonies can reach more than 20 frames of bees by the start of the major honey flow period, or become strong production colonies. For colonies that do not meet the strength requirements, sealed brood with or without bees can be taken from weak colonies or new splits to supplement the production colony, so that it builds up strength at the right time. Weak colonies should retain 3 to 4 frames of bees and 3 brood combs to continue multiplying.
4. Arranging the hive: 3 to 5 days before the start of the major honey flow period, adjust the hive according to the length of the nectar flow period, so that it can both collect honey and produce royal jelly while maintaining colony strength. If the nectar flow period is less than 10 days, appropriately restricting the queen's egg-laying and reducing nursing work can increase honey production. Keep the queen and all unsealed brood combs in the brood box, add one foundation frame and one honey-pollen comb on each side; place a queen excluder on top of the brood box, put the remaining sealed brood combs in the super above, add empty combs between the sealed brood combs, place 8 combs per super, and widen the bee space to 15 mm. If the colony is strong and the nectar flow is large, 2 supers can be added. Place the sealed brood combs in the two supers separately, and add empty combs where there are not enough. If the nectar flow period lasts more than one month, or two main nectar sources are adjacent, do not restrict the queen's egg-laying. Keep the queen and 1 to 2 frames of unsealed brood in the brood box, add 1 to 2 empty foundation frames on each side, and leave 2 honey combs. The arrangement of the supers is the same as above. The remaining unsealed brood combs can be moved up into the supers, but they must be checked after 5 days and queen cells cut out; the unsealed brood combs can also be used to supplement weak colonies.
5. Management during the nectar flow period: The central task during the major honey flow period is to maintain strong colonies, prevent swarming fever, concentrate forces on honey collection, and at the same time produce royal jelly, beeswax, and other products. For honey extraction, follow the principle of extracting early in the initial stage, steadily in the middle stage, and sparingly in the late stage. Extracting honey 2 to 3 days after the start of the major honey flow period can stimulate the bees' enthusiasm for foraging, and at the same time separate out the original stored honey in the combs, making it easier to harvest single-flower honey and improve honey purity. In the middle stage of the nectar flow, wait until the honey stored in the honey combs is 1/2 sealed before extracting; do not extract as soon as honey is seen. In the late stage of the nectar flow, be sure to be cautious, extract less and leave more, and extract in batches to ensure the colony has sufficient food reserves. Extract honey combs before the time when the colony is bringing in large amounts of nectar, to avoid the large amount of nectar collected that day mixing into the extracted honey combs. Adding supers and separating ripe honey is a good method for improving the quality and quantity of honey; when the honey stored in the original super is about 80% full, add a second super below it (above the queen excluder) so the colony continues to store honey. When the honey stored in the second super is about 80% full, take out the honey combs from the first super, extract the honey, and then place the empty comb super below the second super, so the two supers alternate in honey storage. A third super can also be added below the second super.
6. Shading and ventilation: Heat can hinder the bees' foraging activities. In hot seasons, place the colonies in shady areas, and during the hottest time at noon keep the bees in a shady place. Straw curtains, reed mats, or branches can be placed over the hives, extending toward the south to reduce the area of the hive exposed to sunlight. During the major honey flow period, open the entrance completely to facilitate evaporation of water from the nectar and reduce the bees' labor in fanning. If there are no robbing bees or enemies, the super can also be offset forward by 20 mm.
7. Preventing robbing bees: In the late stage of the nectar flow, when nectar sources decrease or are cut off, robbing bees are especially likely to occur in autumn and must be prevented.
　　
III. Honey Extraction Operations:
Honey extraction work includes removing bees from the honey combs and separating the honey from the combs. Before operation, clean the extraction site, and wash and dry the extraction tools and honey containers.
1. Honey extraction tools: mainly include honey extractors, uncapping knives, honey strainers, honey containers, bee brushes, hive tools, smokers, etc.
2. Removing bees: Depending on the scale of the apiary and the number of honey combs, there are the following methods of removing bees:
① Shaking combs to remove bees: Take the honey storage super down from the colony and place it on an overturned hive cover. Add another empty super on the brood box of the colony, place 2 to 4 empty combs on one side inside the box, then lift out the honey combs one by one, hold the frame ears with both hands, and suddenly shake up and down with wrist force to shake the attached bees off into the empty space in the super. Then use a bee brush to sweep away the small number of remaining bees, place the combs in a comb carrying box, and cover it.
② Removing bees with a bee escape board: A bee escape board is a wooden inner cover fitted with bee escapes. Bee escapes come in 2-way, 6-way, and multi-way types. In the evening, add an empty comb super on the brood box, add a bee escape board above it, and then add the honey storage super above that. A super of bees can be cleared in about 12 hours with a 2-way bee escape, about 6 hours with a 6-way, and about 2 hours with a multi-way.
③ Removing bees with repellents: Benzaldehyde and propionic acid have a repellent effect on bees. First, nail together a wooden frame with the same outer dimensions as the super using boards 15 mm thick and 40 mm wide, nail 6 layers of black cloth on top, then nail on a layer of iron sheet and coat the surface with black paint. When using, first puff some smoke into the honey storage super to drive the bees downward, sprinkle 1:1 benzaldehyde or 1:1 propionic acid on the cloth of the bee escape cover, place it over the super, and after 3 to 5 minutes the bees can be driven down into the box below. Benzaldehyde works well at 18°C to 26°C, and propionic acid at 26°C to 38°C.
④ Removing bees with a bee blower: Place the honey storage super on the iron rack of the bee blower, and use the nozzle to blow air along the gaps between the honey combs to blow the bees down to the front of the colony entrance.
3. Separating honey: Honey separation (extracting) should be carried out in a clean room where bees cannot get in. Secure the honey extractor to prevent it from shaking violently during separation. Use an uncapping knife to cut off the caps of the sealed honey cells, place honey combs of similar weight into the frame of the extractor, and turn the extractor to separate the honey.
Generally, honey is not extracted from brood combs. To avoid reducing the area available for the queen to lay eggs due to honey compression, when honey must be extracted from brood combs, be careful to avoid bumping or pressing the comb surface and slow the rotation speed to avoid throwing out larvae. Honey extractors come in many models, including 2 to 4-frame reversible, 2 to 4-frame live-turn, and multi-frame radial types; choose according to the scale of the apiary. It is best to coat the inside of the extractor with a layer of beeswax to prevent rust, and clean it thoroughly before and after use.
　　
IV. Honey Processing:
The separated honey often contains dead bees and their larvae, wax flakes, etc. It should be filtered through a double-layer gauze and put into containers and sealed. Apiaries can use water vats with lids to store honey. Containers for long-term honey storage should be rust-proof and sealed. Special honey containers are steel drums coated with polyester anti-rust paint.
Place the cut wax caps of the honey cells on a gauze over a container to filter out the attached honey, then wash them with warm water and melt them with added water into wax blocks. When taking the last honey of the year, place the extracted empty combs in a super, add it to a strong colony, let the bees clean up the remaining honey on the combs, and then fumigate and store them.
　　
V. Applications of Honey
Honey not only contains nutrients needed for human metabolism but also has the effect of inhibiting and killing bacteria, so honey is both a safe food and widely used in medicine.
1. Honey is a safe food
Honey does not carry any pathogenic microorganisms harmful to humans; it is a safe and unique food. As a sugar substitute, honey is both sweet and nutritious. The iron, folic acid, monosaccharides, invertase, vitamins, and other substances contained in honey are all necessary for promoting children's growth and development. It has a certain preventive and therapeutic effect on many diseases to which children are susceptible, helps digestion and absorption, reduces allergic reactions, prevents dental caries in children, gastrointestinal infections, dysentery, epidemic parotitis, measles and complications, and increases children's resistance to disease and promotes sleep.
For elderly people with high blood pressure, drinking a cup of honey water every morning and evening is very beneficial. For patients with chronic hepatitis and poor liver function, regularly eating honey can improve liver function. For patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and chronic cough due to deficiency, honey is a good natural nutritional product that can strengthen the body and reduce fatigue. For elderly people with gastric and duodenal ulcers, regular consumption of honey is even more effective. For patients with heartburn pain, taking 30 grams of honey dissolved in warm boiled water with a few drops of ginger juice during an attack can relieve the symptoms. Regular consumption can promote oxygen exchange in the body and cell metabolism, and resist aging.
Consumption methods: Honey can be taken dissolved in warm boiled water, or mixed into milk, soybean milk, or porridge. Do not take it dissolved in boiling water; it is best not to exceed 60°C, to avoid destroying vitamins, enzymes and other active substances, nutrients, and the natural floral aroma. After eating honey, do not immediately drink large amounts of water, to avoid feeling gastric acid. Daily consumption amount: generally 30 to 50 grams for children and adolescents, and 50 to 100 grams for adults.
2. Clinical applications of honey
Clinically, honey can treat wounds and scalds, and when taken orally can treat indigestion and constipation. It also has a liver-protecting effect and is an auxiliary agent in making Chinese and Western medicines. Medical practice at home and abroad has proven that honey has functions such as moistening the intestines, moistening the lungs, preserving, detoxifying, and nourishing the spleen and kidneys. It mainly treats dry throat and dry mouth, dry cough without phlegm, intestinal dryness and constipation, weak spleen and stomach, frailty and frequent illness, weakness after illness, and malnutrition. Regular consumption of honey has nourishing, regulating, and therapeutic effects on many diseases.