Can you reuse brood comb?

If you know your bees died of starvation or cold, chances are it is safe to reuse brood combs that are in decent shape, even if they are moldy or have some dead adult bees still on them. Reusing combs with dead larvae in cells is risky.

What do I do with an old brood comb?

Old black comb should be cycled out of your hive over time. Some give it 2 years in the brood chamber, some give it 5 years. Whichever, old black comb should be replaced over time. The built up cocoons from all the bees makes the cells smaller, and carry more disease and chemicals over time.

How often should you replace brood comb?

How often should I change them? There are many opinions as to this question but no brood comb should be used for more than three years. Used comb should be rendered or disposed of rather than being used in a different colony. For the small cost involved it is not worth the risk.

How do you reuse honeycomb?

Cutting out the honeycomb

In extreme cases, honeycomb is cut from the beehive frames and melted. It frees up the frame and you can reuse it. Melted wax with dead bees in it is usually discarded. You may sieve out the dead bees from hot wax and use the wax to make some products.

When should I replace my old comb?

Most researchers suggest replacing old comb in the hive every 5 or 6 years. Some beekeepers say it should be a much shorter time 3-4 years. But beekeepers realize that comb construction is an expensive undertaking for the colony.

When to Destroy old Brood Comb

How do you rotate out the old brood comb?

One of the easiest ways to rotate old comb out of your supply is to decide on an annual schedule of replacement. For example, if you replace the worst 20% of your combs every year, you will rotate your entire stock once every five years. Some beekeepers prefer to replace 25% every year for a four-year rotation.

Should I have 2 brood boxes?

With two brood boxes, there is enough space for your queen to lay as many eggs as she can. This means you won't need to check your hives as often. When using one brood box, there is only enough room to feed your broods sugar syrup in small increments. With two, you can give them larger amounts less often.

How many frames of brood should a hive have?

Most beekeepers seem to prefer using ten frames in the brood boxes—and for good reasons. There is really no benefit to having extra wide spaces for raising brood, and ten frames provide more area for the brood nest, so this makes sense.

Will bees clean up old frames?

The comb, honey and frames may be used in the hive again. Bees will clean up a bit of mold, although by doing it for them they can focus their talents elsewhere, like pollination. If it is black mold, remove and trash the foundation (or melt for other uses). Clean the frames thoroughly, air out, freeze, and reuse.

Why are my bees not drawing out comb?

Bees will only draw out new comb when there is a strong nectar flow. If there's no nectar to make honey with in the super, there's no point in wasting energy on building comb that will then sit empty, right? So, if you place a super on your hive during a time of dearth, don't expect your bees to fill it.

Will bees move honey from brood box to super?

A hive generally has two brood boxes—the larger boxes in which the bees lives year-round—and honey supers are stacked on top of those boxes during the spring and summer months to give the hive extra room. The bees will move honey “upstairs” to the supers if it's available.

Can I use a brood box as a super?

The bottom level is the structure, and the additional levels become part of the superstructure. The same is true in a beehive. The base (or structure) is almost always the brood box. Therefore, every additional box that is added is referred to as a super, because it forms part of the superstructure.

Can you eat bee brood?

Bee brood is already eaten as a delicacy in many countries, including Mexico, Thailand and Australia. It has a nutty flavor with a crunchy texture when eaten cooked or dried, and is a versatile ingredient used in soups and egg dishes.

How can you tell the difference between a honeycomb and a brood comb?

Capped honey cells are slightly indented versus the capped worker brood cells that have a slight protrusion to them. Capped worker brood cells are often confused with capped honey comb cells (image above). Capped worker brood has a slight bump protruding from the cell.

Will bees draw comb without a queen?

Yes, they can and will draw comb without a queen. Somewhat more slowly in the case of queenless swarms I've hived compared to queenright ones, but they will draw it, and bring in pollen and make honey, etc.

Can I use an old hive for new bees?

First, the good news. Unless the colony died because of a nasty disease like American Foulbrood, you can definitely re-use the equipment. AFB would present as a horrible smelling hive with rotting, brown, slimy brood. You don't want to re-use equipment if the colony had AFB because it will pass on the new bees.

How do you encourage bees to draw out a comb?

1. It seems that nectar (or a light syrup that mimics nectar) is ideal for stimulating wax production. Many beekeepers use 1:1 syrup as a comb-building stimulant, others prefer an even lighter syrup of one part sugar to two parts water (1:2). This works fine, especially in the spring.

What happens if I add a honey super too soon?

When a super is added prematurely, the bees will tend to move upward first, rather than outward. This sometimes results in a long and narrow shape to the colony, which is less than ideal both for the efficient use of the equipment, and for maximizing colony growth and honey production.

Can you put a honey super on too early?

Try not to add supers too early or too late, but if you are uncertain, then do it sooner. Also, remember to only harvest surplus honey and leave enough for your bees to make it through the year.

Can I harvest honey from moldy comb?

The bees are very thorough. After they are done, the combs can be used for brood or honey production. It's amazing, but no taste or smell of mold will remain on the combs. If you have more than one colony, you can divide the moldy frames between them, or you can give a few at a time.

What does black honeycomb mean?

When areas of a hive's honeycomb turn dark-colored or black, it indicates that those combs are being used to rear baby bees. The same honeycomb cells are used to house baby bees again and again, and a build-up of pollen, bee spit, and other debris is what causes the bee frames to blacken.