To recycle or not

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Joined
Nov 9, 2018
Messages
709
Reaction score
565
Location
Rainham, Medway (North Kent) UK
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
24 plus 12 owned by others
I have some beautiful new comb full of sealed drone brood which I've removed from the hive because I don't want these genetics perpetuated. Can I recover wax from this larvae/pupae filled comb? I don't have a solar device, nor enough comb (at the moment) to justify running a steamer.
 
How? Any suggestions? I don't think I'd do it the same way I recover wax from empty comb (slow cooker).

I know you said you didn't have enough to justify a steamer, but I found this video from a link on this forum and so tried this method recently. I have to say, it is really fabulous. I imagine you might have more frames to be done down the track, so well worth considering.

 
I have some beautiful new comb full of sealed drone brood which I've removed from the hive because I don't want these genetics perpetuated. Can I recover wax from this larvae/pupae filled comb? I don't have a solar device, nor enough comb (at the moment) to justify running a steamer.
Have you removed the drone brood (yet) with an uncapping fork or similar? Tweezer out remnants.



Might be too late now if you haven't.
 
Thanks for the replies. This amount of rotting larvae put me off trying to recycle the wax. A steamer would be do the job but the combs have to be stored till you have enough for it to make financial sense to boil water for all that time. (Hence solar melters, so I'll look out for a sheet of glass.) So on this occasion, the brown bin it is. At least that's composting.
 
Throughout the summer I cut the old comb out ( crap and all) and put it in the solar wax melter, where it is finely filtered before dripping into the collecting tin. The old frames are stored and then boiled in one go during the winter. Half have fresh foundation put in that time, the other half, as the frames are needed
 
My hens daintily pick out all the larvae and pupae largely leaving the frame intact
Just yesterday I found some larvae filled comb I'd thrown into the long grass a free days ago. Something has neatly consumed the the larvae without damaging the comb at all. Sounds like a solution.
 

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