Brace and burr comb - Is there a way to reuse somehow?

VermontHoneyBee · June 04, 2018, 08:08:13 PM

My bees produce a lot of it. I am assuming that they do the same for other beekeepers. I understand that the bees will not reuse it but can it be used to add more was to plastic foundation?. Or even wax foundation?. Could I not find a way to give it back to the bees since it is so expensive for them to make. Just looking out for my girls

Thanks

Acebird · June 04, 2018, 09:08:57 PM

Render the wax and sell it to those that make foundation, candles, potions, whatever. Keep in mind that nothing comes without effort.

BeeMaster2 · June 04, 2018, 10:35:37 PM

Vermont,
If the comb is large enough you can rubber band them into a frame and give the frame back to them. Just make sure the up side is up.
I just opened up a 5 frame Nuc from a Trapout that had 5 medium frames and they all had comb hanging down below the frames. I rubber banded all of them and put them back in the hives.
Look at the comb size. Is it worker comb or is it drone comb. If it is worker comb it would be worth putting back in the hive.
Jim

cao · June 04, 2018, 11:13:38 PM

I save all the comb that I scrape off frames and put in my solar wax melter. Then when I have enough I will put it in a crock pot to melt it and use a paint brush to add more wax to plastic foundation or to starter strips. I have a couple of hive that love to make all kinds of burr/brace comb all over the hive. If I do a full inspection I remove most of it. I can end up with a small handfull of wax from each hive.

On a side note, I have a couple hives that propolised everything extra thick. I could easily get a handful from these hives doing a full inspection if I scraped it all off. What propolis I do scrape off gets left outside my garage where I keep a few extra boxes. I will see bees collecting it from time to time.

VermontHoneyBee · June 05, 2018, 10:35:33 AM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on June 04, 2018, 10:35:37 PM
Vermont,
If the comb is large enough you can rubber band them into a frame and give the frame back to them. Just make sure the up side is up.

I am going to give this a try. My bees need to build all of my frames since I am a new beekeeper and don't have drawn out frames. I am just trying to help the little girls... :)

beepro · June 06, 2018, 09:25:16 PM

I gather them up and melt them in a small non stick pot when there are enough. Then put essential oil in
them to make scented bee wax. There are a few essential oil that repel wax moths that I put in. At the end of the
bee season I will collect the drawn frames that the bees don't use anymore and store them in thick cardboard boxes. And use these
essential oil wax with the drawn frames all sealed up in a box. So far I have 98% undamaged drawn frames this season. How's this for
protecting these valuable drawn frames.

eltalia · June 06, 2018, 09:42:22 PM

Quote from: VermontHoneyBee on June 05, 2018, 10:35:33 AM
Quote from: sawdstmakr on June 04, 2018, 10:35:37 PM
Vermont,
If the comb is large enough you can rubber band them into a frame and give the frame back to them. Just make sure the up side is up.

I am going to give this a try. My bees need to build all of my frames since I am a new beekeeper and don't have drawn out frames. I am just trying to help the little girls... :)

What Jim said.
As I do a lot of rescues I store much of the newer brood comb(cutout) I can, it
comes in handy for a "quickstart" and bees will make a frame of it given time.
It does not look flash/pretty but is serviceable and so of no huge matter in a
broodchamber.

Bill

yes2matt · June 08, 2018, 04:08:05 PM

Quote from: cao on June 04, 2018, 11:13:38 PM
I save all the comb that I scrape off frames and put in my solar wax melter. Then when I have enough I will put it in a crock pot to melt it and use a paint brush to add more wax to plastic foundation or to starter strips. I have a couple of hive that love to make all kinds of burr/brace comb all over the hive. If I do a full inspection I remove most of it. I can end up with a small handfull of wax from each hive.

On a side note, I have a couple hives that propolised everything extra thick. I could easily get a handful from these hives doing a full inspection if I scraped it all off. What propolis I do scrape off gets left outside my garage where I keep a few extra boxes. I will see bees collecting it from time to time.

I'm assuming you have quite a few hives, and move around among them while inspecting etc. How do you collect the wax and propolis? I ask because I keep wishing I had a cup or something hanging on my belt for that purpose.

Sent from my SM-J327P using Tapatalk

Acebird · June 08, 2018, 05:43:23 PM

Wear a bib or short golfing towel. It should be white though. Then you can clean your fingers and tool or just stick clumps to the towel. Soak in IPA to clean towel and let evaporate.

cao · June 08, 2018, 10:25:19 PM

Quote from: yes2matt on June 08, 2018, 04:08:05 PM
I'm assuming you have quite a few hives, and move around among them while inspecting etc. How do you collect the wax and propolis? I ask because I keep wishing I had a cup or something hanging on my belt for that purpose.

Sent from my SM-J327P using Tapatalk

If you think 70+ is quite a few hives then yes.

I have a small bucket(3 gallon?) that I keep my bee stuff in(extra hive tool, tape, marker, queen clip, grill lighter, bag of pine needles, etc...). After I close up a hive, I just toss it in the bucket. At the end of the day I just take the bucket back and empty it out.