Section comb honey is produced and sold in the comb in either small wooden sections (4 1/4 x 41/4 inches or 4 x 5 inches) or round plastic frames. The two basic systems of spring management practiced by comb honey producers depend on the size of brood chambers used. There are, of course, a number of variations of these two systems. The simplest method of producing comb honey is to winter the bees in a 1 1/2- story brood chamber. A second shallow extracting super may be added about the time maples or fruit trees are in bloom if the spring flow is heavy. When the main honey flow has started, place the queen in the full-depth hive body and insert a queen excluder between the shallow super and the standard hive body. This procedure prevents the queen from laying excessive quantifies of eggs in the shallow frames. A few frames of brood in the shallow super encourages bees to start work in the sections without delay.

When the bees have stored honey in all but the two outer frames of the shallow super, the colony is ready for a section super. Place the section super between the full-depth hive body and the queen excluder. The queen excluder is always placed above the section supers. Queens seldom lay eggs in the sections since the space is divided into small compartments. An excluder placed below a section super retards the work of the bees in the sections but does not seem to retard work in the shallow frame super in which the worker bees are already established and prefer to work. The honey and brood in the shallow super encourage the bees to work in the section super quickly since they are already accustomed to going into the super above. (See Figure 41.) Add more section supers as soon as the bees have begun to work in the outside rows of sections in the last super added. Place empty supers under the excluder and on top of the other section supers. There may be as many as four or five section supers on a colony at one time. Placing empty section supers above those partially filled supers keeps the workers more organized. Workers do a more complete job of filling and sealing the sections as they work upward into the empty super. The beekeeper may raise the first super when it is half sealed and place a partially drawn super underneath. This manipulation of supers reduces the risk that the bees will carry stain into the adjoining super from the brood chamber below. When supers are added too quickly, they may contain partially filled sections with little or no market value.

The other management system for comb honey production involves two full-depth brood chambers. This approach can be used successfully by beekeepers with considerable experience. The double brood chamber provides the queen with an abundance of space for egg laying and the colony

Figure 41. One-and-a-half story colony of bees with two comb honey supers under queen excluder and shallow super. (Photo by W. W. Clarke, Jr.)

with plenty of space for honey. Additional space for brood rearing is generally not needed. In late April, the brood chambers are normally reversed as described in the section on spring management.
Unless there is a very heavy honey flow, bees will not fill section combs successfully when the section supers are placed above two hive bodies. They will usually fill the two brood chambers and then swarm. For this reason, one brood chamber is normally removed when the main honey flow begins. The beekeeper can determine the beginning of the flow by the presence of new white wax on the combs and on the top bars of the brood frames. There also will be new honey in the brood combs that falls out easily when shaken.

Two-story colonies may be reduced to a single story by placing the queen in the lower hive body with five frames of sealed brood and five empty combs. Place the remaining combs in an empty hive body after shaking about two-thirds of the bees from them in front of the lower hive body. Give the colony one or two section supers, depending on its strength. The second hive body may be set on a weak colony or used to develop a new colony.

For best results, section supers should contain a few partly drawn sections saved from the previous season. When using bait sections, place four of them in the center row of sections. These sections are often poor in quality when filled and should not go to market.

When bees are well started in the last section super and there is reason to expect a continuance of the nectar flow, add another super. Do not give room before it is needed. Add more supers judiciously toward the end of the nectar flow; otherwise, many sections will be started that will not be finished in salable condition. Place the empty super above the partially filled one as described previously. Bees will then finish the sections as they go.

When a section super is completely sealed from top to bottom, except for the two outside rows, remove it and place it above a bee escape. Do not remove sections with smoke because the bees will chew holes through the cappings during smoking. In addition, the honey may absorb the flavor of the smoke and become distasteful.

Use unfinished sections from the outside rows as bait sections in the next super, which is given to the bees. Or if the flow is about over, remove the sections, extract them, and store for the next season. To determine when a section super is full, look at the bottoms of the sections since these are the last parts to be sealed. If honey is coming in fast, it may be advisable to add a super every few days. It requires good judgment and knowledge of local conditions to add supers at the proper time. If a finished super is left on the hive too long after the combs are sealed, cappings will become dirty or "travel stained." Five to eight days are required to ripen nectar; therefore, all honey should be ripe twelve days after the flow stops.

Examine all colonies producing comb honey for queen cells every eight to ten days for the duration of the swarming season. Destroy all queen cells; if any cells are missed, the colony will swarm.

Section boxes for producing comb honey should be folded, filled with foundation, and placed in supers during late winter or early spring. The boxes will then be ready for immediate use during the honey flow. When folding the section boxes, moisten all grooves with a damp sponge, rag, or fine spray of water or steam to prevent breakage at the corners. When folding plain sections, be careful not to dampen them entirely since foundation will not stick to a damp surface. The small beekeeper may prefer to use split sections, which require no cutting or heating of foundation.

Place the four folded sections, with the split side up, in the section holder. Make sure the sheet of foundation is the same length and depth as the four sections. If it is too long, trim off the difference. Spread the tops of all four sections. Drop the sheet of foundation into the space left between the two halves of the four sections and push the sections together to hold the foundation tight. Devices for putting foundation in split sections are available from bee supply dealers. Comb honey is more attractive and is produced most economically when full sheets of foundation are used.

If solid sections are preferred, cut the foundation about 1/8 inch smaller each way than the inside of the sections. Prepare four or eight blocks, each block 1/8 inch smaller than the inside of the section. Blocks should be 1/8 inch thinner than 1/2 the depth of the section (e.g., blocks for 1 7/8-inch sections should be 7/8 inch thick). Place the sections over the blocks and lay one sheet of foundation on each block. Then slide a hot blade between the section and the foundation. Push the foundation against the hot blade as you withdraw the blade. The melted edge of the foundation will slide against the section and adhere as it cools. The blade may be a wide scraping knife or similar tool, but it should be the same width as the foundation. Insert the sections into a section holder. The foundation should then hang free of both sides and very near the center of the section. It should come within about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the bottom. The foundation should not rest on the bottom since it stretches a little when placed in the hive. If it reaches the bottom, it may buckle and distort the resulting comb. Do not place the sections in supers until they are needed. One or two poorly fastened sheets of foundation falling down in a super after it has been stored or given to the bees may cause considerable loss and inconvenience after the super has been filled by the bees.

Paint tops of sections with melted paraffin or cover them with masking tape so the bees cannot stain the sections. Melt the wax in a double boiler with water in the bottom. Never place a pan of paraffin wax on a burner since the wax may catch fire or get too hot. If the wax is too hot, it darkens the sections.

After removing section comb honey from the colony, the next step is to get it out of the supers. Remove wedges from any supers that have been wedged up tightly before being put on the hives.

Place the super on a 1-inch-thick board or block of wood just large enough to slip inside the super. Press down the shell or box of the super to force the section holders and separators out of the super body so they can be readily separated and the sections scraped and cleaned.

Sections should be carefully scraped free of propolis or the masking tape removed. This operation requires much care, because every time a beekeeper cuts or damages the face of a nice section of honey, a marketable section is lost. After cleaning, weighing, and grading sections, wrap them in sanitary packages. Cellophane bags or cardboard cartons with a cellophane front are suitable packages. The cardboard carton is favored since it better protects the delicate section.

The law requires that each section of honey placed in a container be marked with the minimum net weight in ounces and the name of the producer or seller. Net weight is usually 1 ounce less than the gross weight, 1 ounce being allowed for the wood of the section.

To make an excellent glue for sealing cellophane, dissolve 1/2 level teaspoon of gum arabic in 1/2 cup of warm water. The solution is not sticky and can be applied with the forefinger.

Comb honey should not be produced in the fall from the nectar of wild flowers, since this honey crystallizes more quickly than most summer honeys. Fall honey should be produced in supers used for liquid or extracted honey.