melted comb residue

jacbad · February 07, 2011, 11:10:46 AM

hi everybody

I've searched a couple of threads but cannot find a specific answer. When i have melted old comb from feral hives and all the wax has melted and run of, there is always residue left over that still has the shape of comb but does not melt and feels like very fragile paper.

What is this :? and could it be used for anything ie baiting for new swarms or is it useless and be thrown away????

jacbad

Finski · February 07, 2011, 11:19:13 AM

.
The residue is larva silk and pollen etc. If the combs have diseases like AFB, they spread it to all bees.
AFB spores die in 130C and wax melts in 70C or something.

Don't let bees suck that residue.

fish_stix · February 07, 2011, 08:23:43 PM

That's the leftover cocoons after the wax has melted off. No good for anything, although I've seen some posts mentioning using it for smoker fuel! Yikes! Smells bad enough in the wax melter. I usually let the garbage picker-uppers have it.

Michael Bush · February 07, 2011, 09:27:27 PM

If you put those cocoons in a cloth bag and boil them you can get the rest of the wax out of them. Probably not enough to matter, but that's how you get it.

Countryboy · February 07, 2011, 10:41:36 PM

The leftovers is commonly called slumgum. It usually gets tossed on the burnpile or in a smoker.

Michael Bush · February 07, 2011, 11:28:08 PM

I should have mentioned you need a rock on the bag...

jacbad · February 09, 2011, 05:33:21 AM

thank you for all the replies

I was hoping to use it as bait for more feral swarms since i dont have afb. I see Dadant has some swarm bait but never tried it yet and a friend of mine uses propolis as bait and i know if you have mature comb a passing swarm cant resist but maybe i should just throw it away :'(

Michael Bush · February 09, 2011, 05:47:11 AM

Sure, you can put a bit on the bottom of a bait hive and see what happens, but Lemongrass Essential Oil will do more good. But that won't hurt.

jacbad · February 09, 2011, 06:24:44 AM

Thank you for that info Michael. I like to try something natural rather than a chemical :-D

Michael Bush · February 09, 2011, 09:47:56 PM

Lemongrass essential oil is just derived from lemongrass...

jacbad · May 29, 2011, 04:28:38 PM

Thanks for the info Michael. You misunderstood me. It works fantastic. Caught 10 swarms in what was left of my summer. Sorry i took so long to thank you

iddee · May 29, 2011, 05:51:35 PM

Slumgum makes a great compost additive.