These two photos show the kenyan deadout that had the comb collapse. Most of the comb was on the bottom of the hive. It seems I had not fitted the usual batten under the roof which allows about an inch air gap between the roof board and the top bars. Therefore the roof board was in contact with the top bars. I will not make this mistake again. This loss was clearly my fault and is unfortunate that it probably happened when the heat of summer usually meant drones had already gone and brood rearing had slowed or stopped. The new combs shows me that the bees tried to rebuild and tried to raise new drones when the queen was lost.
OMG that moth infestation is horrible. Empty/evacuate your hives and purchase some sulfur (found easily) and put it in metal container (with paper shreds or wood) and light it on fire inside the hive. This will kill all moth larvae - make sure to air out in a safe (netted preferably) area for a day or two -- your wax will be fine.
ReplyDeleteEthan, thanks for the comment but this wax, all of it, has already been rendered into blocks in my steam melter. As a matter of policy, I would never use any poison no matter what in my hives or my wax. I also would never re-use old comb from a deadout. I am 99% sure this was just comb failure but one can never be 100%. Love your dylan profile pic.
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