Extra Wax

[Kathyp]

i have a small brick of wax from my small extraction of honey this year.  i have been playing with it to find a good and easy way to clean/melt, etc....

can this wax be given back to the bees next year?  if so, is this a good or bad thing to do?  

i wouldn't want to create lazy bees, but thought that it might give a boost to the split or new package that i will do next year.

[Mici]

if you already melted it into a brick, i'm almost sure that they won't use it, besides bees have a natural desire to build combs in spring. try to use the wax some other way. i made an excelent shue pollish http://www.recipesource.com/misc/non-food/household/00/rec0001.html

[Michael Bush]

>can this wax be given back to the bees next year? if so, is this a good or bad thing to do?

I know of no way to get bees to take wax in any large amounts.  They make their own more quickly than they take cappings or burr.  They won't take any noticable amount from a block.

[Brian D. Bray]

Use it to set your foundation strips into the frames.  melt it and dribble it in, if done right you won't need wire.  I use it to hold my starter strips in place and use no other anchoring.