Poly Hive
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2008
- Messages
- 14,094
- Reaction score
- 395
- Location
- Scottish Borders
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 12 and 18 Nucs
Current exchange value for cash is £0.99 per pound from the market leader.
Pretty much rubbish me thinks.
However.... I can sell a candle at £2-50 which weighs 40z. So with the investment in the right mould and wick we are doing a bit better. £10/pound is a bit more attractive.
Then there is furniture polish of which I have sold thousands of tins. About an ounce of wax per tin selling at £4. Getting more interesting hmm?
The above as some sound financial reasons for harvesting your wax but there is a very good beekeeping reason too.
Bernard Mobus taught that bees in large colonies become "replete" and these bees begin the swarming process as being stuffed to the gunnels they drop out of the transfer of queen substance process. He thought that by giving these replete bees wax work to do they were kept more in the loop as they used the internal nectar store to produce wax.
I like wax. A lot. so I harvest it, a lot or did when I was producing extracted honey.
To get it I used Manley frames and as per Manley I used the uncapping knife to cut down the bottom bar. this however does mean a considerable amount of honey in the wax. Roughly a half of the combs weight in fact.
So how to retrieve the honey? Gentle warming and then run it through a spin drier running at 2800rpm and a fine filter....works a charm.
Then of course you soak the wax in water to retrieve the very last of the precious substance and have the beginnings of your mead.... Beekeeping should be a very thrifty craft, or is that crafty thrift?
PH
Pretty much rubbish me thinks.
However.... I can sell a candle at £2-50 which weighs 40z. So with the investment in the right mould and wick we are doing a bit better. £10/pound is a bit more attractive.
Then there is furniture polish of which I have sold thousands of tins. About an ounce of wax per tin selling at £4. Getting more interesting hmm?
The above as some sound financial reasons for harvesting your wax but there is a very good beekeeping reason too.
Bernard Mobus taught that bees in large colonies become "replete" and these bees begin the swarming process as being stuffed to the gunnels they drop out of the transfer of queen substance process. He thought that by giving these replete bees wax work to do they were kept more in the loop as they used the internal nectar store to produce wax.
I like wax. A lot. so I harvest it, a lot or did when I was producing extracted honey.
To get it I used Manley frames and as per Manley I used the uncapping knife to cut down the bottom bar. this however does mean a considerable amount of honey in the wax. Roughly a half of the combs weight in fact.
So how to retrieve the honey? Gentle warming and then run it through a spin drier running at 2800rpm and a fine filter....works a charm.
Then of course you soak the wax in water to retrieve the very last of the precious substance and have the beginnings of your mead.... Beekeeping should be a very thrifty craft, or is that crafty thrift?
PH
What a fuss. Honestly, launderettes are *supposed* to be for public use....
