What's left after reclaiming wax

[Fahey]

This has probably been covered in the past, but I am interested to know what is left in the solar extractor after the wax has melted. I know the cells are polished each time before the queen lays. Are these honeycomb structures good for anything.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Pupal cases,bee faeces and the remains of all those poor male varroa that gave their lives

 

[Jimmy]

When dry* they make excellent fire lighters.

*I use a steam wax extractor, I guess from a solar extractor they will be dry anyhow.

 

[Luminos]

Pupal cases,bee faeces and the remains of all those poor male varroa that gave their lives

 

[itma]

Those ex-cocoons are the protein source that the Greater Wax Moth larvae are after.

They also stiffen the comb structure very effectively - comb is rather floppier (and needs gentler handling - especially on big frames) when new and clean.

But old comb harbours diseases, hence the need to cycle it out of circulation when it gets "too bad" - typically no more than 3 years.

 

[Little John]

Are these honeycomb structures good for anything.

Chicken feed - they love it.

itma: But old comb harbours diseases, hence the need to cycle it out of circulation when it gets "too bad" - typically no more than 3 years.

I know this is current practice, but is there actually any evidence to support this claim ? I'm thinking in terms of propolis being deposited inside the cells, being the bees' natural defence mechanism against disease etc. Just curious - not wishing to start a huge confrontation.

LJ

 

[itma]

Propolis is quite good against moulds developing on it.
However, it doesn't touch the spores. So Nosema spores just sit there until they get inside a bee's gut ...
And there are plenty other things that prop isn't enough to stop.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Propolis is quite good against moulds developing on it.
However, it doesn't touch the spores. So Nosema spores just sit there until they get inside a bee's gut ...

I'd have thought the spores would get get encased in propolis, so they're not accessible? No idea if it's true though, just a thought.

 

[alanf]

I'd have thought the spores would get get encased in propolis, so they're not accessible?

Propolis might help, but there's a limit to the layers that could be built up without making a cell unusable. I'd have thought any propolis on an active cell wall is often reworked and anything it contains is potentially infectious once it's picked up by the bees.

I'm not aware of any quantitative research but the RBI message was that the higher the level of spores, the more likely infections. That is, most diseases need a certain level of infectious material before they become a problem. The obvious problem spores are AFB, rare but long lasting. Much more frequently, there will be Nosema and Chalkbrood spores which most report as seasonal problems. Old comb with a build up of infectious material is going to make another bout of diseases next year more likely. There are beekeepers around here who set hygiene as a top priority, they "shook swarm" every year. Again, I'm not aware of any formal research results but they claim to get disease levels lower than when they rotated comb every 3 years or so.

 

[Barbarian]

I tried putting the old comb from the solar melter in my compost bin. It does not rot down.

I currently use some as part of the fuel in my smoker. Am I doing right ?

 

[alanf]

I tried putting the old comb from the solar melter in my compost bin. It does not rot down.

I currently use some as part of the fuel in my smoker. Am I doing right ?

The preservative effect is being soaked in melted wax. I know others who use it in the smoker, and in theory burning infected material would be a good way of sterilising it. The caveat is that you're handling potentially infectious material before lighting it. You're carrying it into the apiary, getting it on your gloves, smoker bellows, and from there to frames and so on. Practically, it's probably not that significant as an infection route, after all it's produced the wax we (or the dealers) reform into foundation but take care handling and try not to leave it in the open.

 

[Little John]

I had a little 'Google around' in order to try and answer my own question about the rationale behind replacing old comb - didn't find what I was looking (but will keep searching) - but came up with a most interesting bit of info:

It was in a 2004 paper (attached below) by Piccirillo and Jong, entitled "Old honey bee brood combs are more infested by the mite Varroa destructor than are new brood combs" - the title of which is kindof self-explanatory , in which it is reported that - despite having smaller cell sizes (which you'd have thought would have the opposite effect), old comb was found to be more attractive to Varroa mites - by a factor of roughly 2:1 - than new comb.

Suggesting of course, that some other factor is at play (smell maybe ?) rather than just the larger size of drone cells.

The plot thickens ...

LJ

 

[mbc]

I tried putting the old comb from the solar melter in my compost bin. It does not rot down.

I currently use some as part of the fuel in my smoker. Am I doing right ?

This makes me shudder a bit. I dont like using any thing which might have beeswax on it in my smoker, I'm sure it agitates them when they smell it burning.

 

[BeeJayBee]

... I'm not aware of any formal research results but they claim to get disease levels lower than when they rotated comb every 3 years or so.

I've been looking too, but apart from the 'rotate combs every three years' "rule" I can't find any sound evidence as to why.

I recall ITLD saying he once had some brood comb that was many, many, years old. Didn't ever suggest colonies using it were more likely to be diseased or more susceptible to varroa.

I tried putting the old comb from the solar melter in my compost bin. It does not rot down.

If your compost heap is away from your hives it might be best to leave the old casings on the top, it'll attract wax moths which will lay eggs on it. The larvae will eat it - and will probably in turn be eaten by birds.

 

[Beeline]

My one dog has recently had problems with his ears. On looking up natural remedies for his ear problem I discovered that bees wax helps improve dogs ear health if offered as a snack. In fact, if offered to dogs via self selection, it will show they love it. According to this Naturally Animals website it improves their:
- ear health
- healthy gasto intestinal system
- healthy digestion
- healthy coat and skin

Granted my dogs are labs but they love eating these old combs!!

In future I'm not going to bother trying to extract wax from old combs - just pass it on to them and hopefully provide some health benefit.

 

[pargyle]

Granted my dogs are labs but they love eating these old combs!!

As another Lab owner .... Labs will, generally, eat ANYTHING - regardless of whether it is good or bad for them !! Digestible or not .....