My single hive this year was very productive. The colony has expanded greatly and I know I will have to split it next Spring. I inspected the hive and determined that I could safely remove 4 full bars of comb.
I removed the oldest combs ( the ones that were the darkest). Each time a bee larva forms a pupa within the cell, it leaves behind a very thin cocoon shell in the cell. The worker bees clean out the cell for the next larva but don’t remove the cocoon. After a while, the combs get darker and darker as the shells build up and it’s good practice to remove them as not only do they make the cell smaller, they can contain small amounts of toxins and harmful organisms that the bees have brought into the hive and can create problems.
I then cut the comb off the bar and crushed the comb into a sieve. Leaving the comb overnight allowed the honey to drip through, leaving the wax and debris behind. The next day I poured the honey into the jars. I then melted the wax in a separate pot and poured it through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth. The result was a clean block of wax.
From all of this I collected over 9 pounds of honey and ¾ pound of wax. Success! Thanks to the hard working honeybees I have a nice supply of honey to eat and share with friends and family and the bees have plenty of honey to last them through the winter.
Bob what do you use the bee’s wax for?
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Good question! I gave the last batch of wax to an encaustic artist in exchange for lessons. Not sure what I’ll do with this batch. I might pour it in some candle molds or something…. It’s just pretty to look at and smells so good!
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Congrats and well done!!
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Thanks….. got any use for some beeswax?
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How exciting! You and your bees have been very busy.
Love reading your blog!
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Hi Barb,
Maybe someday you can come out here and see the bees up close and personal!
I would love to show you around the area here….
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Good job! Sounds like candles would be a great future project!
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What a lovely harvest from your wonderful hive. Ma Nature provides! YUM!
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