Honey Harvesting Timing: A Guide for Beginners.

As an aspiring beekeeper, one of the most exciting moments is your first honey harvest. However, it’s important to understand that harvesting honey is not something you do right away. A new colony typically needs a full season—or even longer—to become strong enough to produce surplus honey. In most climates, this means that you might not be able to collect any honey in your first year. Patience is part of good beekeeping.

Honeybees produce honey as their primary food source. They gather nectar from flowers, convert it into honey, and store it inside the hive to feed themselves and their young—especially during times when food is scarce, such as winter or during prolonged rain or drought. Before you think about harvesting, your colony must first build up its population, draw out comb, raise healthy broods and store enough honey to support itself. Only when the hive is thriving and has surplus honey beyond its needs is it appropriate to collect some for yourself.

In most hive setups, bees raise their young (brood) and store pollen and some honey in the bottom box, called the brood chamber. As the colony grows, you’ll place another box on top—called a honey super—which the bees will use for honey storage. This super should only be added once the lower box is well established. Typically, by the end of the first year, your brood box will be full of comb and activity. During the second season, when the colony is stronger and nectar is plentiful (usually in spring and summer), bees will begin to store honey in the upper box.

Honey should only be harvested when the frames are fully capped—meaning the bees have sealed the honey cells with a thin layer of wax. This indicates that the honey has the correct moisture content (around 18%) and is ready for long-term storage without fermenting. Prematurely harvested honey may spoil or ferment.

Most hobbyists harvest honey once or twice a year, typically late summer to early autumn, after ensuring the bees have enough stores to survive the winter. A colony should be left with ample honey in the brood box or a dedicated super, especially in cooler climates.

You should only take honey from the super. Never remove honey from frames that contain brood, and never extract honey from the brood box. The honey in those frames is essential to the colony’s nutrition and survival. A good rule of thumb is to always leave behind enough honey for the bees to overwinter safely. In many temperate regions, this means, in the case of Apis mellifera in Langstroth hives, leaving at least 10–20 kilograms (30–40 pounds) of honey in the hive.

As a hobbyist, your priority is not honey production—it’s the health and welfare of your bees. Always leave a few frames of honey for the bees. Removing too much honey and replacing it with sugar syrup may seem like an easy shortcut, but it's a bad practice. Honey is a complex natural food that contains enzymes, nutrients, and properties that sugar water cannot replace. Feeding bees from external sources or shop-bought honey is also strongly discouraged, as it may contain additives or contaminants that could spread disease within your hive.

In short: be patient, respect the bees, and harvest only when the colony is healthy and thriving. You’ll enjoy your honey all the more knowing you’ve cared for your bees responsibly. Harvesting your own honey is one of the most rewarding moments for a hobby beekeeper. After a season or two of patient care and colony development, your bees finally offer up their surplus in the form of golden, beautiful honey. But timing, method, and mindfulness are all crucial to making your first honey harvest a success—for both you and your bees.

If you're starting, maintaining two hives is ideal. This gives you the flexibility to observe differences, compare productivity, and act as a backup if one colony is underperforming. Once your hive has at least two stacked boxes—a brood box and a honey super—you may begin to notice fully capped honey frames in the super by late summer. Bees cap the honeycomb cells with a thin layer of wax once the moisture content is just right, signalling the honey is mature and ready for long-term storage—and harvest.

When harvesting, focus only on frames that are at least 90% capped. These are safe to extract without worrying about excess moisture or fermentation. Use your bee smoker gently to calm the bees and direct them away from the frame. A soft bee brush can help you move any remaining bees off the honeycomb. Place harvested frames into a clean, covered container immediately to prevent bees from accessing them.

Work quickly and avoid open-air honey handling, especially near your hives. Honey’s scent can attract dozens, if not hundreds, of bees in minutes. There may be bees from other hives present in the area. Once one bee discovers exposed honey, she will return to the hive and signal others, potentially creating a feeding frenzy. For this reason, it’s best to process honey indoors in a bee-proof space. Evening or nighttime is also ideal, as bees are less active and safely inside their hives.

Once inside your room, you have several options for processing your honey:

1. Crush and Strain Method: If you want liquid honey, cut the comb out of the frame, crush it gently, and place it in a strainer or fine mesh sieve over a bowl or bucket. Leave it in a warm room or place it under the sun (with protection from bees). Honey will flow down over several hours. You can store the liquid in clean glass jars or bottles, ideally in 250g or 500g sizes for easy handling and sharing. Avoid plastic containers.

2. Using a Manual Extractor: If you have access to a honey extractor, especially a small hand-crank model, you can spin the honey out of the frames without destroying the comb. You could place it back on the hive. This saves the bees the effort of rebuilding the comb, which is an energy-intensive process. Some local beekeeping clubs loan out extractors to members, which is a great way to process several frames efficiently and affordably.

3. Cut Comb Honey: This is the most natural way to enjoy your honey. Cut rectangular pieces of honey-filled comb straight from the frame and place them into glass containers. It’s pure, raw, and beautiful—perfect for gifting or spreading on toast. The wax is edible, though most people chew it and discard it afterwards.

   
   

Harvesting honey is a joyful moment, but remember to take only what your bees can spare, leave them plenty for the colder months, and savour the natural sweetness of honey from your own backyard.