Shelley, when bees abandon a hive it is referred to as "absconding." There usually would be no honey left, but I have read reports where there was. I believe one of the remarkable things about honey is that it does not have an expiration date.
Douglas, I learned just this year that honey never expires and of course it's a great thing to take every day for allergies (local honey). We are supposed to be getting some hives, can't wait. The good news is the bee keeper (I think that's what you call him) will tend the hives and give us half the honey!
With the diminishing bee population we all need to be bee keeping. Shelley's story of abandoned hives is reported with more and more frequency. Check out this documentary by PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/sile...