crystallized honey in frames

[mike91553]

Has anyone had crystallized honey in the frames this time of year. This was all new honey made this spring. I noticed it was more difficult to cut the caps and then saw that the honey in many cells was crystallized. I tried to extract some but of course it wouldn't all come out.
This was only found in one hive so far and a very strong productive hive at that. A 3 brood story medium nuc made 4 five frame supers of honey. What could they have worked that caused this. I never saw this before except in the fall with aster honey. I always thought honey needed cool temps to granulate.

[Kurt Bower]

If you had difficulty cutting through the cappings then you were most likely cutting through brood comb which is made of cocoons, not wax. Wax cuts easily with a hot knife. Was your comb dark or light colored?
As for the crystalliztion...
My guess would be that they moved (sugar syrup) from the brood chamber into your supers to make room for brood rearing. All honeys can and may crystallize if given the right conditions. Cool temps are only one ingredient for honey turning. Honey composition of natural sugars has more to do with crystallization than anything,

Kurt

[Wally]

Bee bread may also look like crystallized honey.

[mike91553]

It was all honey and not brood. I didn't have to feed that hive this spring but may have last fall. They could have had some aster honey in the brood boxes that they moved up too. I put 10 frames in 2 buckets to warm up in a car today and turn back to liquid. I wondered if there is any spring flowers they worked that are bad to crystallize?

[Wally]

Blueberry crystallizes real fast. Maybe others, too, that I don't know about.

[Kurt Bower]

When I said brood comb, I meant that the comb had previously had brood raised in it. Beeswax is white when first produced and becomes darker with time. Eventually the wax is entirely replaced by cocoon and will appear brown or even black in appearance. While the entire frame may have only honey in it, you end up cutting into the cocoon with your hot knife and it does not mealt as beeswax does.
Clover honey is bad to crystallize but I would be surprised if this seasons honey turned so quickly.

[mike91553]

Some of the comb was new and some old. I don't use a hot knife but when I tried to liquidfy the honey in a hot car it didn't work. Some of my comb got too hot and fell out of the frames and the honey was still not liquid.

Another beekeeper 5 or 6 miles away called and said he had the same problem with a hive of his.
This was a swarm that did everything without any sugar water this year or honey left from last year. He thinks it was something they worked in the last 2 or 3 weeks.

[Kurt Bower]

I have not encountered this in my years as a beekeeper. very interesting though!

[mike91553]

I found some in another hive today mostly in one super but a few cells scattered around in other supers. I was able to extract probably 1/2 to 2/3 of the honey in those frames.

http://s1118.photobucket.com/albums/k61 ... d%20honey/

[Zulu]

That is really interesting.