Bees waxing

[Jerrymac]

It has been said that only certain aged bees produce wax (that meaning the young ones). The temperature has to be at a certain heat. They bees have to have honey in their belly for so many hours before they get the urge to wax. Or have I got some of this info wrong?

Then only the older bees fly..... as in a swarm..... and the younger ones stay with the hive. So now it is the older bees that have to build the new comb. They might have had honey in their bellies for a while to do this but think of this. They get to the new place and start building comb and the queen starts laying in it. So they build more comb to store honey and more comb to lay eggs in.

And who does all the capping of the honey anyways?

[BMAC]

another thought with that is when they swarm who is going to be the nurse bees???

I believe when they swarm it is a mix of old/young/queen that take off and not just the old bees.  Although we like to think it is just the old bees doing it, swarming changes much of the typical beehavior.

[Scadsobees]

I've seen what looked like newly hatched bees in swarms.  I believe that a cross section of the hive leaves, not just the old ones.

My observations are that they only generate wax when they need to.  So if they have room, there won't be many wax producers.  They won't need more comb until there is a major hive building effort, and that is in the spring and not till the temps increase.  I don't know if the temperature is a requirement or a driver or both for wax production, I can't imagine the bees building up the hive if the temps are too cold.

Capping?  They use whatever wax they have on hand.  If nobody is producing, then they will take the wax from the combs and edges that aren't being used.  They don't really need all that much to cap a cell.

There have been studies on all of this, but I don't know offhand of how to find them.

Rick

[Michael Bush]

>t has been said that only certain aged bees produce wax (that meaning the young ones).

Any aged bee can make wax.  A bee that develops the ability young is a more efficient and productive wax maker.

>The temperature has to be at a certain heat.

Again, it's a matter of efficiency.  I've seen them draw new wax in subzero weather (at night anyway) and a good supply of syrup.

>They bees have to have honey in their belly for so many hours before they get the urge to wax.

True.

>Then only the older bees fly..... as in a swarm..... and the younger ones stay with the hive.

No. The younger bees swarm.  The older ones stay home.

> So now it is the older bees that have to build the new comb.

They could, but it's not the older bees.

[Jerrymac]

No. The younger bees swarm.  The older ones stay home.

Really? Now I got to go figure out where I heard it was the older ones.

They bees have to have honey in their belly for so many hours before they get the urge to wax.

True.

Now I have to wonder how much honey and for how long. I have done cut outs and while the bees are in a screen cage I see wax scales and they start sticking it all over the place. Most times they are not having to build comb in the hive I am tearing out because they have a lot of storage space for honey and the brood nest isn't full.  :?

[Brian D. Bray]

The majority of older bees stay home.  Home has a lot of unhatched brood to fill the gap quickly.  The swarm needs the young bees because it is going to be 3-4 weeks before any appreciable amounts of brood begin to hatch to replenish the hive.  If only the old bees swarmed it would soon die out of old age.

[reinbeau]

I watched a video once that showed wax being produced from a bee's abdomen.  The photo above shows the wax flakes.  Fascinating.