MasMassive
New Bee
I have just lost a colony to wax moth. It was a colony I caught in Spring 2022 and which was always rather feeble . I nurtured it through winter and hoped it would pick up this spring but about a fortnight ago no more bees, only the dreaded moth.
I immediately removed the hive from the apiary and killed all the moths and larvae I could see and squashed all the cocoons. I scraped and burned the inside of the empty hive then harvested the honey from the brood and super frames. I then put the frames into the freezer for 3 to 4 days.
After a bit of research I learnt that you can consume the honey in wax moth situations … but then I remembered I treated with Apivar last autumn.
Finally, the question: what would you do with the honey? We ate some before I thought about the apivar (yikes!) but it is toxic so that’s not a good idea, unless it wears off after several months. Does any one know? Obviously I plan to use some of this honey to feed the bees in the winter. Then I wondered if I give this honey to the bees now, will they clean and store it so I can harvest in about a month?
I immediately removed the hive from the apiary and killed all the moths and larvae I could see and squashed all the cocoons. I scraped and burned the inside of the empty hive then harvested the honey from the brood and super frames. I then put the frames into the freezer for 3 to 4 days.
After a bit of research I learnt that you can consume the honey in wax moth situations … but then I remembered I treated with Apivar last autumn.
Finally, the question: what would you do with the honey? We ate some before I thought about the apivar (yikes!) but it is toxic so that’s not a good idea, unless it wears off after several months. Does any one know? Obviously I plan to use some of this honey to feed the bees in the winter. Then I wondered if I give this honey to the bees now, will they clean and store it so I can harvest in about a month?
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bees just dwindled and died some time ago, then the moths moved in
