Beetle-Slimed Honey on Drawn Comb

[The15thMember]

I had a weak hive get overcome by beetles and wax moths recently.  I was able to salvage a few frames of drawn comb that seemed okay, but after freezing and sitting around in a plastic bin for a few weeks, they are starting to grow some mold and smell like alcohol from the little bit of capped honey in them going bad.  I know the bees can clean up the mold with no issues, but is it a bad idea to give them a frame with this fermenting honey on it?  Will they clean it up and discard it like bad pollen, or will they eat it and will it make them sick? 

[Oldbeavo]

Are you on plastic or wax foundation.
If plastic just scrape it all off, big advantage to plastic foundation.
If wax is it capped or open, i
even if capped, open the cells and if you want to save the wax, try washing the fermented honey out of the frames. Leave it soak for a while then shake it out.
Otherwise dump all the wax etc and keep the frame and start again.

[The15thMember]

Are you on plastic or wax foundation.
If plastic just scrape it all off, big advantage to plastic foundation.
If wax is it capped or open, i
even if capped, open the cells and if you want to save the wax, try washing the fermented honey out of the frames. Leave it soak for a while then shake it out.
Otherwise dump all the wax etc and keep the frame and start again.

I'm foundationless, so I'm not sure that the comb will hold up to washing, as most of the comb isn't very old, but I guess there is no harm in trying.  So the bees can't deal with the fermented honey in the hive? 

[Ben Framed]

I had a weak hive get overcome by beetles and wax moths recently.  I was able to salvage a few frames of drawn comb that seemed okay, but after freezing and sitting around in a plastic bin for a few weeks, they are starting to grow some mold and smell like alcohol from the little bit of capped honey in them going bad.  I know the bees can clean up the mold with no issues, but is it a bad idea to give them a frame with this fermenting honey on it?  Will they clean it up and discard it like bad pollen, or will they eat it and will it make them sick?

First of all I am sorry to hear of your misfortune on this Member. Personally I would not feed it back to them. That is if my memory is correct. It seems I watched a video of 'once again of Bob Binnie' that mentioned fermented honey. You might want to check it out for yourself. 

[cao]

From one who has way to much experience with this situation.  Do you need the drawn comb this year or are you going to save for next year? 

If you need the frames now, go ahead and put them on a hive.  I would limit the number of frames per hive to a couple.  I always try to limit the number of "bad" comb so not to stress the bees too much. 

I just had a 5 over 5 over 5 medium nuc get slimed.  I will let the boxes outside and let the bees clean up what they want.  The frames with pollen which contain most of the larva will be washed with the shower setting of the hose then left to dry and the bees to clean up.  The honey frames will be spread out in half full boxes and let the bees clean up what they want.  This will usually take a couple days.  Having the boxes only half full of frames and stacked perpendicular to each other will make it less hospitable to wax moths.  After the bees have done their thing, I sort the frames.  The good ones will be stored.  The bad ones get melted down.

[Acebird]

Don't put fermented honey in the hive.  You are only asking for trouble.  You can render the wax if you want.

[The15thMember]

First of all I am sorry to hear of your misfortune on this Member. Personally I would not feed it back to them. That is if my memory is correct. It seems I watched a video of 'once again of Bob Binnie' that mentioned fermented honey. You might want to check it out for yourself. 

I'll see if I can find that. 

Don't put fermented honey in the hive.  You are only asking for trouble.  You can render the wax if you want.

From one who has way to much experience with this situation.  Do you need the drawn comb this year or are you going to save for next year? 

If you need the frames now, go ahead and put them on a hive.  I would limit the number of frames per hive to a couple.  I always try to limit the number of "bad" comb so not to stress the bees too much. 

I just had a 5 over 5 over 5 medium nuc get slimed.  I will let the boxes outside and let the bees clean up what they want.  The frames with pollen which contain most of the larva will be washed with the shower setting of the hose then left to dry and the bees to clean up.  The honey frames will be spread out in half full boxes and let the bees clean up what they want.  This will usually take a couple days.  Having the boxes only half full of frames and stacked perpendicular to each other will make it less hospitable to wax moths.  After the bees have done their thing, I sort the frames.  The good ones will be stored.  The bad ones get melted down.

So if I let them open clean it, then they can eat what is still good, and they'll leave what is bad.  That sounds like a good idea.  When it stops raining, I'll give that a try. 

Thanks all. 

[Acebird]

So if I let them open clean it, then they can eat what is still good, and they'll leave what is bad.  That sounds like a good idea.  When it stops raining, I'll give that a try. 

I have done this.  The problem is they will eat it even if it is bad if there is not a strong flow.  It gets mixed in the hive and alcohol is not good for the bees.  So after doing this I suggest not doing it.  If you know there are spots of good honey harvest it even if it is for the bees.  You can choose when and how much to give them.

[Beeboy01]

I have always hosed off the really nasty slimed  frames to clean them up then shaken them off. After that I let the bees clean up what's left as they air dry. If the frames are older and loaded with pollen the wax gets scraped off and melted in the solar wax melter after hosing off and clean up by the bees.
  I'm slowly moving over to plastic foundation so the wax gets scraped off not cut out like I used to do with wax foundation.   

[FloridaGardener]

I'm foundationless too.
First I'll freeze of course.  Then rinse out any uncapped nectar.  I have a washout station where I use the hose sprayer (not too powerful) over a laundry tub, and the drain goes into a place where bees can't get to it.   Any capped honey is ok.  Pollen that is still packed in seems ok; pollen that is runny & fermented rinses out.

I whack the frame upside down and empty out as much water as I can.  Check for obviously corrupted comb.  I use utility scissors to cut through the coocoons/comb and cut away small ruined patches.  I find scissors work better than a knife, since the knife will saw and tear comb out of the frame. The scissors will puncture and snip.

Put frames back on a strong hive only, just 2 at a time. 

[The15thMember]

I have done this.  The problem is they will eat it even if it is bad if there is not a strong flow.  It gets mixed in the hive and alcohol is not good for the bees.  So after doing this I suggest not doing it.  If you know there are spots of good honey harvest it even if it is for the bees.  You can choose when and how much to give them.

Oh, okay then, maybe not the best idea right now, since we are in the post-sourwood dearth.

Any capped honey is ok. 

I thought this too, but the stinking beetles and waxworms seem to have tunneled under without it being obvious through the cappings, so I may have to uncap and then rinse. 

I'm foundationless too.
First I'll freeze of course.  Then rinse out any uncapped nectar.  I have a washout station where I use the hose sprayer (not too powerful) over a laundry tub, and the drain goes into a place where bees can't get to it.   Any capped honey is ok.  Pollen that is still packed in seems ok; pollen that is runny & fermented rinses out.

I whack the frame upside down and empty out as much water as I can.  Check for obviously corrupted comb.  I use utility scissors to cut through the coocoons/comb and cut away small ruined patches.  I find scissors work better than a knife, since the knife will saw and tear comb out of the frame. The scissors will puncture and snip.

Put frames back on a strong hive only, just 2 at a time. 

Maybe I'll give this a try then.  My primary concern was the comb holding up to the sprayer, so that is reassuring.  The scissors is a good idea too, although might have to get one expressly for this purpose, so I don't make the public scissors sticky beyond all reasoning.    Hey, no harm in trying.  If I bust it all up with the hose, I'm no worse off than if I cut it all out and chucked it.       

[The15thMember]

I rinsed out my comb today and it seems to have worked well.  I uncapped it with my uncapping fork and rinsed it out with the shower setting on the hose.  It comb is ragged from my uncapping of course, but otherwise it held up very nicely.  The bees came and cleaned up the dregs of honey water from the comb, and also drank up the puddle where I had set a wet frame down.  Some bumble bees and yellow jackets joined in too.   
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[FloridaGardener]

I like that picture because the bees aren't fighting or drowning.

And no red-headed skank is waiting to eat them as soon as their crop is full.

I'm sooo reluctant to open feed becaue of the insane frenzy that builds up.

[The15thMember]

I like that picture because the bees aren't fighting or drowning.

And no red-headed skank is waiting to eat them as soon as their crop is full.

I'm sooo reluctant to open feed becaue of the insane frenzy that builds up.

Yeah, they were all having a great time, but now that there is nothing else to clean up, the yellow jackets have been pestering everyone at the garage entrance for days, so definitely paying the price for it.  I got stung and so did my mom.  Hopefully the goldenrod and the native sunflowers will open up and give everyone something to do.  I had such trouble with robbing while inspecting today.  I hope the dearth gives out here pretty soon and the fall flow starts up.  On the bright side though, you can get a lot of wax cleaned up quick under these conditions.  Now I've got a lot of nice, dry wax to melt down.       

[FloridaGardener]

What helps here is:

Clematis flammula "queen anne's lace" -- an insanely hardy scrambling vine that gives forage now.... for a couple of weeks.

Liriope "monkey grass" which naturalizes -- keeps the bees busy.  Somehow doesn't need water.

Vitex that has been sheared is coming in for a 2nd bloom. Needs a little water.

Native sumac - but only the very mature tree-shrubs. Gets by on summer rains.