Nectar from cut out comb

[Kathy Porter 3]

Hi - just tried my first cut out and made a mess of the combs. Think I have the queen in hive so hoping they can start again. I have managed to collect most of the nectar and wondered how long it will keep. There is still a lot in hive for them to use initially so thought it might be worth holding the collected nectar until a bit more of a dearth

 

What do people think - should I just give to them now or later and how should I store it?

 

Thanks

 

[Andy 24]

As long as they have some food and the Queen is there they will make up for the missing comb in no time. Put the collected nectar in jars and get a piece of Toast, sit back and enjoy. If the Queen is not there and there is some Brood and Eggs etc hopefully they will make a replacement Queen. Still sit back and eat toast.

[yesbut 6,230]

If the nectar is not fully cured it will probably ferment fairly quickly

[Janice 3,991]

I would chuck everything, including wax and nectar, into a feeder and let them sort it out. But only leave it on for a few days or they can move in and  make a mess.

[Kathy Porter 3]

Thanks all. Have put broken brood comb, nectar combs at far end of hive in a dish to stop dripping and will leave for 3 days. Activity at entrance currently looks pretty orderly. Will keep my eyes peeled for pollen going in.

 

Will probably try the toast option even tho enough nectar for a small town :-)

[Kathy Porter 3]

@Janice - how long is a few days - I've thrown everything into a polystyrene box and are leaving them to it. I want to take out box before they fill it with new comb but don't want to disturb them too early. Do you think 7 days will be too long - I am in Bay of Plenty and weather is spectacular

[Rob Stockley 3,417]

1 hour ago, Kathy Porter said:

@Janice - how long is a few days - I've thrown everything into a polystyrene box and are leaving them to it. I want to take out box before they fill it with new comb but don't want to disturb them too early. Do you think 7 days will be too long - I am in Bay of Plenty and weather is spectacular

So long as the poly box is separated from the main hive combs the bees should 'liberate' the honey back to the main hive. If it's too close then they will repair and incorporate the broken comb into the hive.