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We
check the hives regularly by lulling the bees
from their hive with smoke.
Once the honeycomb is full of pure honey,
the bees’ work is done. |
When
a honeycomb frame is full, we remove it.
When the honey is ripe (the frames are filled
and capped with wax) we remove the frames
except for what the bees need for food (enough
honey to tide them over to their next honey
flow). We
bring the honey laden frames back to our
warehouse to be extracted. |
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Then,
we remove the beeswax cap from the frames.
First, we uncap the frames to remove the
beeswax. We do this by using an uncapping
machine to shave off the layer of beeswax.
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Next,
we extract the honey using a centrifuge
and gravity
The frames are then placed into a centrifuge
which spins the honey out of the wax cells
and into a pipe which drains into a settling
tank. The tank is on a lower floor which
allows for the honey to settle and be gravity
strained. The wax particles float to the
top, and after settling for a day or two
the honey is drained from the bottom of
the tank into barrels. The honey is then
strained to remove large particles of beeswax
and other hive parts, preserving healthy
enzymes and pollen. |
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Finally,
we put the honey into jars.
Each 9.5 oz. jar of Big Island Bees honey
is the result of 683 bees flying 32,550 miles
to visit 1,185,000 flowers to collect 5.93
lbs. of nectar. That’s a lot of work.
But, it is so worth it! |
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