Will bees reuse the wax cappings?

[AllenF]

Good shots!!!    Look at those legs.

[BjornBee]

chewing up foundation/comb to move wax might not be the same thing as them reusing cappings, etc.?  i realize that just because you don't see a thing does not mean it's not happening, but....while i have seen them shuffle stuff in the hive (observation hive) i have never seen them pick up wax and reuse it.  it's not like i have not left the stuff around either from cutouts, clean outs, or cappings.

Your just repeating what I said in post #7. And have further explained since then in post #10.

If this discussion was just about cappings, that is one thing. But the discussion keeps evolving into "reuse of wax".

I keep reading about fallen cappings or bits of wax on the bottom and this somehow equating itself into the idea that bees do not reuse wax. And that is a false relationship and conclusion.

[Kathyp]

the original question was about wax cappings.  many of the answers were general answers about reusing wax. 

[BjornBee]

I think I covered both sides pretty well..... ;)

[BjornBee]

Do bees reuse wax....Yes.

Do bees go after, retrieve, and use every piece of dropped wax you may happen upon on the bottom board.....No.

Do Bees reuse wax.....Yes.

Do bees reuse wax pieces they can not manipulate.....No.

Do bees reuse wax......Yes.

Does that mean if you see wax bits on the bottom board that your bees do not reuse wax...No.

Anything else.........Hopefully not.

[Kathyp]

i guess your answer was just to brilliant for me to understand  ;)

[BjornBee]

Sometimes the answer is so basic, it is lost in the meaning, since you were expecting so much more.... ;)

[D Coates]

I learned a lession about reusing wax this summer.  After harvest I normally put the capping above the inner cover in a 2" shim that's then covered by the out cover.  They normally clean it and chew it into bur comb.  For some reason this year they didn't do that.  Much to my displeasure, they (12 hives) carried the majority out the front and dropped it in the grass.  I was quite surprised to have them do this as they hadn't done it before.  I also noticed that they transferred some onto the combs directly under the inner cover hole.  It was clearly old wax as it was slightly brown and differed from the wax in the frame that was cut to a uniform height during extraction.  I run 9 frames in a 10 frame box so they had room to draw it out.  It wasn't a whole lot (maybe 10% of the volume I put in there) but they definitely recycled it.

[fish_stix]

BjornBee; no I do not own an observation hive! Don't get much honey out of those!!!  :-D

[tecumseh]

fish stix writes:
However, I'm open to the possibility, just hardheaded about proof!

tecumseh:
fair enough.  it ain't such a bad idea to keep on your skeptic cap in regards to this kind of question.

like tillie I think the reference I recall was in Winston.  if I can find the book I will look for the direct reference today.

I rarely see wax on the bottom board here except during the early spring when the bees are in a somewhat tight cluster.  I have never notice them toss it out the front door. robbing will produce wax flakes in enough quantity to notice.  my bees are somewhat to highly hygienic.  for myself wax on the bottom board (most especially with the shb) equals other problems.

[backyard warrior]

I have had a hive top feeder out for the bees to clean up and they had wax on their baskets when they were flying away so im guessing they are using it just like the pictures above.

[tillie]

Mark Winston:  The Biology of the Honey Bee p. 86:  The references are Winston's and I'm not going to put all of them here - see the book for yourself:

"Once comb is built it is a permanent part of the nest, and honey bees do not tear down cells and reuse wax as other bees do (Michener, 1974).  Nevertheless, the cells can be reused, since workers fastidiously clean cells after brood emerges or when stored honey or pollen is removed, and damaged cells are often repaired (Darchen, 1968).  Cell diameters may diminish slightly over a period of many years because of accumulated cocoons, cast-off larval and pupal skins, and treatment given cells to prepare for the next brood cycle.  Such old comb appears brittle and is considerably darker than fresh comb (Gary, 1975), and workers reared in old cells may be smaller than those reared in new cells larger in diameter (Abdellatif, 1965; Nowakowski, 1969).  The wax cappings with which workers cover pupae and honey sometimes can be recycled by thinning them prior to uncapping and then using the thinned wax flakes for construction elsewhere (Lineburg, 1923a,b; Meyer and Ulrich, 1952).

Highlighting is mine, not Winston's.  

p. 98
"Capping is a somewhat unorganized process in which many workers each do a small bit of capping construction in an unsystematic fashion.  a typical cell might take over 6 hours to cap and have hundreds of workers participating in capping construction.  Not all workers help to complete the task; often a worker will remove a piece of wax from one partially capped cell and add it to an adjoining cell capping."

What I was really looking for is on p. 50-51:

"Following this final exoskeletal shedding, the teneral adult remains inside the cell for several hours as the new cuticle begins to harden.  To emerge, the tenerals begin by using their mandibles to perforate the cell capping with small holes as they rotate within the cell;  the antennae frequently protrude through these holes.  The wax cappings are manipulated with the mandibles and fastened to the cell wall, where adult workers pick them up and reuse them to cap other cells."

So there you go.....

Linda T in Atlanta

"

[Tommyt]

Mark Winston:  The Biology of the Honey Bee  The wax cappings are manipulated with the mandibles and fastened to the cell wall, where adult workers pick them up and reuse them to cap other cells."

So there you go.....

Linda T in Atlanta

"

That Pretty much Puts a Lid in This :-D

Tommyt

[Joelel]

They get all the honey off the wax but we have let wax lay to see what they will do with it and they just don't take it.

[tecumseh]

nicely done tillie.