A bucket of old comb from a cutout has been sitting in my garage since June 1st without problems, then a few weeks ago I removed some comb from a weak hive and put it in with the rest of the old comb. Unbeknownst to me, that comb had wax moth eggs. These eggs hatched some time in the past week and began their destruction. Eating through the old wax and spinning their silky webs and cocoons all over.
I wasn't saving this wax for anything. I was just trying to get my solar wax melter finished up so I could melt it down. So now, I'm going to just let the larvae do their thing as I feed them to my chickens! The chickens love it. At first they didn't know what to think of the combs being given to them, but once they got a taste they learned quickly how to get the most out of each comb.
I doubt I'll be able to salvage much of the wax after the chickens pick through it, but it's not a big deal.
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Showing posts with label wax moth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wax moth. Show all posts
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Bee Vlog - June 22, 2013
A quick inspection for Queens Flora & Beatrice just to check space. Flora is ready for another box, while Beatrice is slowly making progress in the top super.
I moved Queen Helen from Outyard #1 to Outyard #4 so I can have a minimum of 2 hives at each outyard. The move is less than 2 miles so I'm keeping them closed up for 3 days to force them to reorient and reduce the loss of foragers returning to the old site.
Then Queen Isabella gets her first inspection where I get my first exposure to wax moth. Nasty stuff! The wax moths where already invading the comb from the attic where I rescued them. And with more comb than the colony could guard the moths were starting to take over. The bees had done their best to try to chew out the cocoons, but hadn't finished the job yet. So I made it easier on them and just removed the mothy wax and reduced their living space to a more manageable size.
I put the mothy wax into the freezer to kill the larvae and any eggs. I'm debating if I want to just melt down the wax or save it for baiting hives next year. Maybe I'll save the better looking stuff and melt the rest.
Video Link
I moved Queen Helen from Outyard #1 to Outyard #4 so I can have a minimum of 2 hives at each outyard. The move is less than 2 miles so I'm keeping them closed up for 3 days to force them to reorient and reduce the loss of foragers returning to the old site.
Then Queen Isabella gets her first inspection where I get my first exposure to wax moth. Nasty stuff! The wax moths where already invading the comb from the attic where I rescued them. And with more comb than the colony could guard the moths were starting to take over. The bees had done their best to try to chew out the cocoons, but hadn't finished the job yet. So I made it easier on them and just removed the mothy wax and reduced their living space to a more manageable size.
I put the mothy wax into the freezer to kill the larvae and any eggs. I'm debating if I want to just melt down the wax or save it for baiting hives next year. Maybe I'll save the better looking stuff and melt the rest.
Video Link
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