Wax moth honey bugger!!

[bjosephd]

Procrastinated too much after taking honey off and extracting (awaiting extractor loan also) and a quick loom in the boxes today to remind myself shows a wax moth infestation!!!

Furious with myself!

Is it possible/acceptable/ethical to still salvage some sort of honey/extraction?

The chickens will be delighted I'm sure bit what a waste of comb let alone honey!!

Please help

Hope you are all well

BJD

 

[bjosephd]

I'm currently thinking (after feeding the chickens FAT wax moth... I think 'Greater'... they ate the wood!) that I will try and get as much honey re-fed back to the bees and give up on a harvest for myself.

The bees deserve to not have their hard work wasted!

 

[Erichalfbee]

That's a real B****r
Are there no frames intact?

 

[enrico]

I have had to destroy so many frames since moving to Somerset, not used to wax moth on this scale. They are in my wet spun off frames too. Luckily I had taken the honey off. Feel for you Jo
E

 

[beeno]

Sorry to hear that BJD. Hope all the beeks that keep saying wax moth only attack brood frames will listen up!

 

[enrico]

I was one of them, learnt that lesson!

 

[bjosephd]

That's a real B****r

Are there no frames intact?

Some are intact enough, others totally knackered, some in between.

They are brood depth frames as I often run without an excluder and one size box, so some of the frames having a little brood history wouldn't have helped.

The question is how 'dirty' are wax moth. There seems to be what I guess is moth cr@p and then of course the spun silk, but if I can get anything kit and run through a filter of sorts is it ok?

Also if I put some of the ruined frames back above a crown board is that safe? So the bees can at least empty them of any honey they want?

I've picked out as many moths and grubs as I can find (lucky chickens).

Anyway.... MORE lessons learned this year!!

Goddam bloody lessons!!

 

[psafloyd]

Wax moth are present in hives –-it's a fact –-and often we will be unaware of their presence.

If they have destroyed the comb, then there's little to Be done bit take out what you can and give it to the bees if you wish or bin it.

Otherwise, there is likely to be wax moth in some of all our supers. I've had them go into stacks without any frames with brood and made a bit of a mess before being found.

Before the extraction is an annoyance, but surely there are some frames relatively –-or even completely –-intact?

Some are intact enough, others totally knackered, some in between.

They are brood depth frames as I often run without an excluder and one size box, so some of the frames having a little brood history wouldn't have helped.

The question is how 'dirty' are wax moth. There seems to be what I guess is moth cr@p and then of course the spun silk, but if I can get anything kit and run through a filter of sorts is it ok?

Also if I put some of the ruined frames back above a crown board is that safe? So the bees can at least empty them of any honey they want?

I've picked out as many moths and grubs as I can find (lucky chickens).

Anyway.... MORE lessons learned this year!!

Goddam bloody lessons!!

 

[beeno]

Also if I put some of the ruined frames back above a crown board is that safe? So the bees can at least empty them of any honey they want?

I would not do that as you are breeding wax moth unless you freeze the frames for 24 hrs beforehand.

 

[bjosephd]

I would not do that as you are breeding wax moth unless you freeze the frames for 24 hrs beforehand.

Sadly no freezer big enough

 

[Mark Young]

Sounds pretty nasty!

I think that by the time you notice tubes, then that comb is only fit for burying in the compost heap and the wooden frame will need a thorough clean up and rebuild.

By the time webs and the mess they leave behind are present then i'd probably just throw it in with the chickens and then on the fire.

 

[bjosephd]

[emoji30]

 

[colinc]

I got some moth in extracted supers within 2 weeks of stacking them for the winter. Plastic foundation so scraped out all signs I could see of moth and misted them all with Certan. I will let you know what happens over winter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[bjosephd]

The honey is my main concern. Whether it's for me or back to the bees.

 

[Mark Young]

The honey is my main concern. Whether it's for me or back to the bees.

Either would be fine I should think. It wouldn't be ethical to sell it at this stage but Honey, Wax and Waxworms are all edible. Just filter it well and probably best not to crush and strain...

 

[bjosephd]

Cool.

Wishing I had just left it all in as honey filled double brood now for winter.

Schedule got crazy here and selling not a priority.