Jan

September

Page 2 of 2

FREE LUNCH

Making honey is a slow process involving a lot of work for the bees - why go through all that when it's there for the taking!

That's what's going on in the picture at left (Fig 1). Cleaning out the sticky supers is a feast for the bees.

After extracting, the frames are wet and sticky with a thin coating of honey that just doesn't come off in the extractor. Rather than leave the honey coating on the frames they are set outside for a few days for the bees to clean up. This not only cleans the equipment for storage making it easier to handle but, it benefits the bees as well. September is late in the season, the main honey flow has shut off and the bees need the honey for their winter stores.

1. Bees enjoying a "honey feast".

IS IT MAY OR SEPTEMBER - ?

We had the same picture of the supers earlier in the Spring - but they were going out then - and they are coming back now. The photo (Fig 2) shows how they are stacked tight together on a solid bottom pallets, which are actually the drip pallets used earlier in the season for pulling honey in the bee yard.

The beeswax comb in the frames of the supers is delicate and must be protected while in storage. There are two principal concerns when storing any drawn beeswax comb - mice and wax moths.

The solid bottom pallets do a good job of sealing off the bottom of the stacks keeping out the mice which like to nest in the boxes over the winter and, yes - eat the comb.

But the most serious damage to stored combs comes from the wax moth. The adult moth has the ability to enter the hive at night to lay their eggs on the comb. The eggs hatch into larva that feed on the wax comb. Comb in a populated bee hive is protected by the bees who quickly kill and dispose of the wax moth larva as they hatch.

Stored comb must be protected by special moth ball like crystals that are placed in the top of the stack of supers as shown in the picture at right (Fig 3). As the crystals evaporate, the gas released is toxic to both the moth as well as any larva which may be hatching in the stored comb. It does not, however, affect the viability of the eggs. Only extreme temperatures above 150° F or below -20°F will kill the eggs. However, the eggs don't hatch when the temperature cools off in the late Fall and Winter, so the protection is most critical during the warmer weather.

2. Supers being stored for next year.

3. Protecting combs from wax moths.

WAX MOTH LARVA

After the eggs of the wax moth hatch into larva they begin growing as they consume the wax comb. The larva start out quite small when they hatch, but as they consume the combs they grow to an inch long or more. Mature larva are visible in both pictures to the left (Fig 4 & 5).

This box with its frames was brought in from a dead hive and, unfortunately, was left unprotected in the warehouse for a couple of weeks during the summer. This is about all the time it takes when the weather is warm for the larva to do their damage. Later in the season, when it cools off, the larva aren't nearly as active and don't mature as rapidly.

As the larva mature, they spin their cocoon to later emerge as moths. You can see both the larva as well as the cocoons in the lower picture of the frame. Once a frame gets infested, placing it in the protection of the moth crystals will rid it of larva after which the webbing can be scraped off and cleaned up. After that, the best thing to do is to return the frame to an active hive that will finish the cleanup and rebuild the damaged comb.

4. A box from a dead hive.

5. Devastation of wax comb by wax moth larva.

IS IT MAY OR SEPTEMBER - ? We had the same picture of the supers earlier in the Spring - but they were going out then - and they are coming back now. The photo (Fig 2) shows how they are stacked tight together on a solid bottom pallets, which are actually the drip pallets used earlier in the season for pulling honey in the bee yard. The beeswax comb in the frames of the supers is delicate and must be protected while in storage. There are two principal concerns when storing any drawn beeswax comb - mice and wax moths. The solid bottom pallets do a good job of sealing off the bottom of the stacks keeping out the mice which like to nest in the boxes over the winter and, yes - eat the comb. But the most serious damage to stored combs comes from the wax moth. The adult moth has the ability to enter the hive at night to lay their eggs on the comb. The eggs hatch into larva that feed on the wax comb. Comb in a populated bee hive is protected by the bees who quickly kill and dispose of the wax moth larva as they hatch. Stored comb must be protected by special moth ball like crystals that are placed in the top of the stack of supers as shown in the picture at right (Fig 3). As the crystals evaporate, the gas released is toxic to both the moth as well as any larva which may be hatching in the stored comb. It does not, however, affect the viability of the eggs. Only extreme temperatures above 150° F or below -20°F will kill the eggs. However, the eggs don't hatch when the temperature cools off in the late Fall and Winter, so the protection is most critical during the warmer weather.
	2. Supers being stored for next year.

	3. Protecting combs from wax moths.

	WAX MOTH LARVA After the eggs of the wax moth hatch into larva they begin growing as they consume the wax comb. The larva start out quite small when they hatch, but as they consume the combs they grow to an inch long or more. Mature larva are visible in both pictures to the left (Fig 4 & 5). This box with its frames was brought in from a dead hive and, unfortunately, was left unprotected in the warehouse for a couple of weeks during the summer. This is about all the time it takes when the weather is warm for the larva to do their damage. Later in the season, when it cools off, the larva aren't nearly as active and don't mature as rapidly. As the larva mature, they spin their cocoon to later emerge as moths. You can see both the larva as well as the cocoons in the lower picture of the frame. Once a frame gets infested, placing it in the protection of the moth crystals will rid it of larva after which the webbing can be scraped off and cleaned up. After that, the best thing to do is to return the frame to an active hive that will finish the cleanup and rebuild the damaged comb.
4. A box from a dead hive.

5. Devastation of wax comb by wax moth larva.