🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝

[R2elk]

Rabbit Brush

No honeybees

Sagebrush

No honeybees

Sweet Clover

Honeybee

 

[cavemanrich]

Simple question, obviously from a non bee keeper.
After you extract the honey, the wax remains in the frames. What do you do with the wax??
I am aware peeps do make candles from it,, But can it be just left there, and bees will refill it with new honey next time???
Seems it would save the bees much additional effort to just gather honey, not also wax matter.

Second part of question;
Has anyone experimented making synthetic honeycomb frames, to save bees the wax production work, and concentrate on bringing in the sweet honey products.

Always thinking of helping out,, even the Bees

 

[R2elk]

After you extract the honey, the wax remains in the frames. What do you do with the wax??
I am aware peeps do make candles from it,, But can it be just left there, and bees will refill it with new honey next time???

The cappings which are removed to let the honey be extracted are the wax used to make candles, etc.

The cells are left for the bees to refill.

 

[R2elk]

Second part of question;
Has anyone experimented making synthetic honeycomb frames, to save bees the wax production work, and concentrate on bringing in the sweet honey products.

Synthetic "frames" and foundation are made. The synthetic foundation is coated with bees wax to give the bees a starting place to build their cells.

I have not heard of anyone making synthetic cells which appears to be what you are asking.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Second part of question;
Has anyone experimented making synthetic honeycomb frames, to save bees the wax production work, and concentrate on bringing in the sweet honey products.

Always thinking of helping out,, even the Bees

Yes, you can get synthetic comb. I was given a few to try a couple of years ago and they work but the comb and cells didn't really hold their shape over the summer. They looked a little weird and I took them out the following spring. They may be better now, I'm not sure. It's not something I would use because healthy colonies have no problem drawing comb.

https://www.betterbee.com/foundation/bcombd10-bettercomb-drawn-comb.asp