# Why does comb turn dark over time?



## beginnerhives (Feb 22, 2009)

I am asking about the brood that turns really dark. Thanks for the help.


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## drobbins (Jun 1, 2005)

every generation of bee leaves a cocoon in the cell
it's their dirty diapers

Dave


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

The nurse bees cover organic matter with propolis and strengthen the comb with propolis.


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## Beaver Dam (May 27, 2008)

So over time it becomes small cell? Has to, or do they move some where else in the hive?


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## drobbins (Jun 1, 2005)

smaller cell? yes
small enough to provide the benefits some think come from 4.9 mm?
I don't think so

Dave


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

AmericasBeekeeper said:


> The nurse bees cover organic matter with propolis and strengthen the comb with propolis.


I've never heard that one before. Where did you get that information? If that's true, why does the brood comb turn dark black, but the super comb stay light?

Dr. Tarpy from the North Carolina State University Apiculture Department told me that bees wax is porous, and ends up absorbing a small amount of material over time. Bees don't wipe their feet when they enter the hive, so the small amount of dirt, sap, and god knows what else is attached to their feet end up sticking to the wax, and eventually get absorbed all the way through.

Brood comb has many more bees hanging out on the comb, walking over it, and passing over it on their way to the supers. They don't spend nearly as much time hanging out on the super comb. In the same way that the carpet right by your front door and in your living room gets dirtier than the carpet at the end of your hallway (where you don't walk).


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

I believe deknow mentioned before that it may partly be from secretions from the tarsal glands in the queen's feet.


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## concrete-bees (Jun 20, 2009)

same reason we vaccum the door mats more then we do under our beds !!!!!

kinda like the corner wall that always gets black all though you dont remember ever touching it 

even honey capping starts out bright white and turns brown after a few weeks in the summer - just foot traffic


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

AmericasBeekeeper said:


> The nurse bees cover organic matter with propolis and strengthen the comb with propolis.


This one is correct. They varnish the hive and combs with propolis. It isn't dirty. Bees may be many things but they aren't poor housekeepers. Everything is cleaned, polished, and sealed with propolis which has antiseptic properties. It is one method of combating disease. Like everything in life, it is not perfect nor foolproof. Honey bees still get sick. But they are healthier than bumble bees, whose living habits are a little more lax


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

In a study of Acaricides in Honey, Beeswax and Propolis, Swiss Bee Research Center, 
The Fluvalinate residue level in the honey combs of the same colony was on the average 5 times lower than in the brood combs.
The Folbex residue level in the honey combs of the same colony was on the average 12 times lower than in the brood combs.
The Perizin residue level in the honey combs of the same colony was on the average 10 times lower than in the brood combs.


So you think they are both made of the same material or dirty from traffic. On upper entrance hives, are the honey comb lighter because they track in snow?


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

AmericasBeekeeper said:


> In a study of Acaricides in Honey, Beeswax and Propolis, Swiss Bee Research Center,
> The Fluvalinate residue level in the honey combs of the same colony was on the average 5 times lower than in the brood combs.
> The Folbex residue level in the honey combs of the same colony was on the average 12 times lower than in the brood combs.
> The Perizin residue level in the honey combs of the same colony was on the average 10 times lower than in the brood combs.
> ...


Where did you get the study from?

I have never had an upper entrance hive, so I wouldn't be able to tell you.



peterloringborst said:


> This one is correct. They varnish the hive and combs with propolis. It isn't dirty.


I mean no offense when I say this, but I'll always stick with what an individual with a PhD in Entomology has told me to my face over what I read on the internet.

At least before I'm scientifically proven wrong (or at least shown studies).


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Specialkayme said:


> I mean no offense when I say this, but I'll always stick with what an individual with a PhD in Entomology has told me to my face over what I read on the internet.


Actually, I know Dave Tarpy and have met and talked with him lots of times. I would definitely go with what he says in most cases. But the world is big enough for differing opinions. I am sure that some of the staining is from the fecal material, some from the cocoons, some from stuff dragged in, but bees obviously paint everything in the hive with propolis so without doing a highly sensitive analysis we can hardly be certain of the proportions of each

Oh, by the way, the fact that we are communicating "on the internet" does not mean we are communicating in some inferior way. Communicating via printed words has gone on for centuries, and this is not different from that, except that it is immediate. Back in the 1800s there were weekly bee journals published and people carried on back and forth conversations such as this one. I'm only sorry that Dave isn't in on this one. By the way, he never dismissed my opinions because I don't have a PhD, ask him.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

They have PhDs. Hard to argue with scientific research.
http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/downloads/Acaricides_e.pdf
Top entrance hives are about 150 years old, dating back to L L Langstroth. Upper entrance keeps snow from suffocating the hive and drastically reduces frost in the hive. I noticed a lot of posts about lost hives this winter. Small hive beetle uses the lower entrance to drop to the ground and to pupate. So upper entrances are not as common as they were 150 years ago and the bees are dying at increasing rate, go figure.


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

AmericasBeekeeper said:


> Hard to argue with scientific research.


Yes, well, working as I do in the scientific profession, I assure you that scientists argue as much or more than anyone. They do little else than argue about scientific research. Any work that doesn't hold up to close scrutiny is not worth very much in the real world.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Working in the scientific profession, you recognize the same compound does not absorb substances at substantiially different rates for multiple compounds. If brood comb melts or dissolves in different environments than honey comb they cannot be the same. Several beekeeping books like ABC&XYZ of Bee Culture mention rendering comb and even a reference here and there to what worker bees do the first weeks of their life like cleaning out brood cells and preparing the cells for eggs.


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## WLC (Feb 7, 2010)

Is activated charcoal, or something similar, used in the process of rendering comb for wax foundation in order to remove acaricides?

One would think that if there is no way to 'sink' the concentrations of these acaricides (and other pesticides) found in bees wax, that they would reach a saturation level very quickly.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Ozone is most effective against the known pesticides. Ozone treatment was presented at ABF in Orlando. One commercial beekeeper is using ozone already.


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## WLC (Feb 7, 2010)

AmericasBeekeeper said:


> Ozone is most effective against the known pesticides. Ozone treatment was presented at ABF in Orlando. One commercial beekeeper is using ozone already.


Just out of curiosity, what were some of the other benefits claimed for this process?


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

peterloringborst said:


> Oh, by the way, the fact that we are communicating "on the internet" does not mean we are communicating in some inferior way. Communicating via printed words has gone on for centuries, and this is not different from that, except that it is immediate. Back in the 1800s there were weekly bee journals published and people carried on back and forth conversations such as this one. I'm only sorry that Dave isn't in on this one. By the way, he never dismissed my opinions because I don't have a PhD, ask him.


I was in no way attempting to claim the internet is an inferior way of communicating. Just that it's easy for everyone to put an opinion forth without checking it, verifying it, and assuring that it's correct (not the case here, just generally speaking).

I'm also not considering in any way that you need a PhD to be correct, or to have an idea or opinion. I'm just saying, all things considered equal, I will give greater weight to information given when the source is an individual with a PhD (and the information is within the field of the PhD) and someone that I have worked with, over someone who doesn't have one (or that I don't know has one) and does not provide citations to their information (again, not in this case).

It's just like when people quote Wikipedia as a source. It's not. Much of the information on there is correct, but anyone can edit it, add information, or delete information. You don't actually need to know what you are talking about in order to write there.


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## USCBeeMan (Feb 7, 2009)

Seems that I have read that basically the older the brood comb, the less wax it contains. It's the pupa residue and cleaning up the cells that causes this. Since I am not a bee I don't know if they use Pledge, Pine-Sol or propolis to do the cleaning and polishing.


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

> According to the German researchers Kustenmacher & Phillipp and Weck and some others, propolis might be a resin residue coming from the first phase of pollen digestion in a small organ placed between the sac and the lower gut.
> 
> All cells, and especially the newly built ones, are varnished with this interna propolis before the queen lays in them: this results from the experiments of Dr. Brunning. The greatest quantity of propolis produced by the bees seen to have this origin. It can be easily recognized under the microscope because of the pollen grains it contains.
> 
> ...


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

> I have a little comment to make on the article by Allen Latham (page 152, March, 1921, Gleanings) entitled "Washboard Actions of Bees." I do not believe that he is right in his theory that they are simply working off excess energy. After giving this peculiar action a careful study, I have come to the conclusion that the bees are simply performing necessary work of which I will speak later. As far as comparing the movements of the bees to the activity of a wild caged animal, I think he is surely mistaken. We have long recognized the fact that bees relax into semi-inactivity when the occasion requires except in the case of o!d beea when they need a cleansing flight. Then what does this washboard action of bees really signify? Simply that varnishing is being done, cracks filled, and things made slick and clean. I agree with Mr. Latham that this action is more prevalent after the honey flow. I also agree with him as to the age of the bees in question, namely, those of the wax-working age. That the wax-workers are also the varnishers is a recognized fact. We find much more varnish or propolis on our sections of honey at the close of the honey flow than at a time when nectar is flowing abundantly, because at that time the wax scales are plentiful, and the builders need not resort to other substances to finish their work. At this time when comb-building should cease and varnishing begin, the bees seem to blend the two and make yellow bitter combs. I call this peculiar washboard action a necessity, since it is their way of putting the hive into a sanitary condition, and of preparing for winter by sealing cracks and covering objectionable matter. I once laid a new piece of section near the entrance of a beehive, and before night it was covered with a thin coat of the so-called varnish.
> 
> C. F. Wieneke in Gleanings in Bee Culture, September 1921


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

> Honeybees sterilise their hives with antimicrobial resin, scientists have discovered. In doing so, they give the whole colony a form of "social immunity", which lessens the need for each individual bee to have a strong immune system. Although honeybee resin is known to kill a range of pathogens, this is the first time that bees themselves have been shown to utilise its properties. The team published details of their discovery in the journal Evolution.
> 
> A number of studies have shown that propolis has a range of antimicrobial properties, but mostly in relation to human health. For example, numerous publications cite its effectiveness against viruses, bacteria and even cancer cells. In experiments funded by the US National Science Foundation, Simone's team painted the inside walls of hives with an extract of propolis collected from Brazil or Minnesota. _This inside layer mimicked how propolis or resins would be distributed in a feral colony nesting in a tree cavity.
> _
> ...


from BBC Earth News, produced by the acclaimed BBC Natural History Unit based in Bristol.


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Specialkayme said:


> It's just like when people quote Wikipedia as a source. You don't actually need to know what you are talking about in order to write there.


Actually, I am one hundred percent in agreement with you on this. I have over 3000 articles on beekeeping topics on my laptop; I don't have time for "just so stories."

Keep it real!


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

Thank you for the articles Peter, but I think they point out a different argument than the one we are having here. All of the articles state that bees use propolis to sterilize their hive. I'm not disputing this. The question is why is brood comb darker than 'fresh' comb. If it's due to propolis, this must be because the ladies _continue_ to add propolis to the comb. It would also indicate that they continue to add propolis to brood comb, _but they do not continue to add it to the super wax_. 

Of the articles that you have provided (and perhaps the remainder of the articles explains this, I don't know) I haven't seen where they indicate that they continue to add propolis _to the wax of the brood comb_.

I understand that they use propolis to seal cracks and to varnish the wax when it is first introduced, but I havn't seen where they continue to varnish the brood comb.



peterloringborst said:


> they use propolis to strengthen the natural combs adding it to the wax they secrete. For a long time people believed that these combs contained only pure wax. It was proved that it is not so: the reality is these combs also contain propolis and pollen.
> 
> Natural combs contain about 90-95% pure wax and 5-10% propolis _*which is added at the time the combs are built*_ with a considerable amount of pollen grains. These could even come from propolis which always contains pollen, no matter where its origin.




This only explains that propolis is added when the comb is first created, and not continuously throughout the life of the comb. Using this information, the amount of propolis in brood wax should be the same as the amount of propolis in super wax, and wouldn't explain the difference in color.

Additionally, keep in mind that not all propolis is black. Some is yellow, tan, and even cream colored (at least of what I've seen). So if propolis is added to the comb, and this makes it turn dark black, is it just that the dark propolis is showing up in the color, but the lighter propolis isn't?

Any thoughts?


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

> Additionally, keep in mind that not all propolis is black. Some is yellow, tan, and even cream colored (at least of what I've seen). So if propolis is added to the comb, and this makes it turn dark black, is it just that the dark propolis is showing up in the color, but the lighter propolis isn't?
> 
> Any thoughts?


You are an astute observer of the hive! I grew up in San Diego where the propolis mostly came from Eucalypts, also known as "gum trees". It was dark purple, really sticky and impossible to remove from your hands. Or so I thought. Years later when working as a bee inspector, I started washing my hands with alcohol between inspections, mostly to assure the hive owner that I wasn't transmitting diseases on my hands. I discovered that propolis, at least NY types, came of extremely easily and the constant use of alcohol didn't seem to bother my skin at all.

But the bottom line is: I have had this discussion many times and places, and I am usually overruled on this one. Some attribute the darkness of brood combs to myconium, some to the cocoons. The main reason honey supers are less apt to be stained, however, is due in part to the fact that the cells are quickly filled and sealed and partly due to the fact that the bees are going into brood cells constantly. So whether they track stain on their feet inadvertently or paint the cells, would require very close observation. 

One person who has done such observation is Brian Johnson.



> see:
> "Division of labor in honeybees: form, function, and proximate mechanisms"
> Brian R. Johnson Published online: 10 November 2009


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

Your point about super wax being sealed very quickly is a good point, but it's unfortunate that it doesn't point us in the right direction.

It is good to know that bees mix propolis with wax when they create it, which explains why super wax is usually white, while brace or bur comb is usually reddish yellow (always wondered why, I guess I know now!).

I'll read that article . . . if I find the time (cross your fingers!).


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Sorry, I mixed up my bee events. It was the Florida State Beekeepers Association in Monticello. Dr. Rosalind James presented on the use of ozone to clean chemicals and diseases,pests,parasites from combs. 
http://www.ushrl.saa.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/080514.htm?pf=1


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

another thing to bear in mind is that not all wax is the same color to begin with. When I worked at a beeswax processing plant in the 1970s I learned about wax color. The color of the wax depends on the type of honey consumed when the bees make it. 

For example, white clover honey, sage honey, cotton, all produce very white wax. Even if it is rendered from old combs, it comes up white. On the other hand, eucalyptus and sweet clover produce very yellow wax. This wax is not stained yellow, even fresh cappings are yellow.

So we used to grade the wax according to what color it would be after being filtered to remove the impurities (propolis, cocoons, pollen, etc.) The yellow wax was good for making into regular foundation and candles where there was a yellow component in the color.

The white wax was reserved for comb honey foundation, white candles and candles where a slight yellow cast would ruin the color, such as blue. Funny thing, we used to sell a color call unbleached. They used filtered wax and added a little brown dye ; )


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Specialkayme said:


> The question is why is brood comb darker than 'fresh' comb.
> 
> Any thoughts?


Fresh comb is lighter in color than old brood comb because it is newer and less used. The using of the brood combs darkens it just like peter is trying to get across to you. But something is stopping that info from being accepted. I don't understand what the mystery is. New comb=white or light. Old comb=dark.

What difference does it make exactly why this is so other than from time and usage?


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## hoodswoods (May 15, 2009)

Maybe it is just the way the bees help us humans decide what kind of comb is what (tagging?).


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

http://books.google.com/books?id=p-...v=onepage&q=bee foot secretions gland&f=false

Tarsal secretions, and whatever stick to them?


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

sqkcrk said:


> Fresh comb is lighter in color than old brood comb because it is newer and less used. The using of the brood combs darkens it just like peter is trying to get across to you. But something is stopping that info from being accepted. I don't understand what the mystery is. New comb=white or light. Old comb=dark.


Thank you for insulting me along the way. I'm not slow. I understand that new comb is white, dark comb is dark. 

The question, and _the entire point of this thread_ is "why"



sqkcrk said:


> What difference does it make exactly why this is so other than from time and usage?


Knowledge for knowledge's sake. If you aren't interested in knowing "why" feel free to move on. Others are interested.


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

hoodswoods said:


> Maybe it is just the way the bees help us humans decide what kind of comb is what (tagging?).


LOL

How nice of them


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

I have always thought brood comb turns darker because of pupa casings, or at least from something the bees do with brood or something that happens because of the pupa. The darker results are noticeable after just a single round of brood, and gets darker with each round. As the larva grows, no discoloration is noticed, but after pupa hatching, the comb is darker. I have seen combs used for honey only, year after year, never turn darker than a light brownish/yellow. Not so with brood combs, they get darker and darker to become such a dark brown as to seem almost black. In my mind, it must be something with pupa, most probably pupa casing or stain from the pupa or casings.


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Sure, but how does that account for the fact that old hives have entire combs, including the burr comb, that are jet black. The frames themselves are often very dark brown. We know the bees paint the walls and cover with propolis and we know that it is tracked around on their feet. I think the wax absorbs the propolis stain. (I am not ruling out myconium and cocoons as additional sources of stain but I think propolizing is the prime source)


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## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

I noticed that in photos of HSC [Honey Super Cell], the plastic foundation with fully drawn comb is also discolored from brood rearing. I haven't used it myself. Can it be washed out with pressure water? Has anybody examined the material on the walls of HSC?

When the queen sometimes gets into the bottom of super [honey] frames, the brood cells are also discolored. I don't have an observation hive though, so I don't know when the discoloration occurs.

While looking up something about pigments in insects:

"The other type of insect pigment is the insoluable black substance melanin, which is formed in the presence of oxygen by the action of an oxidizing enzyme upon some colourless aromatic precursor, the 'chromogen'. Melanin producing enzymes are generally diffused throughout the blood and tissues and secretions of insects, *particularly near the time of pupation *when much black pigment is often formed". >> _"Insect Physiology", 1983_ Treheme and Wigglesworth  [It's true!] 

http://books.google.com/books?id=fU...5&ved=0CB8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=melanin&f=false

The integument of the pupa is quite soft and delicate. I certainly don't know all the biochemistry that goes into the developement of pigments during pupation. If it's some propolis, it must be getting picked up in tiny amounts within the hive. Just thoughts.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Specialkayme said:


> Thank you for insulting me along the way. I'm not slow. I understand that new comb is white, dark comb is dark.
> 
> The question, and _the entire point of this thread_ is "why"
> 
> ...


Well Special kayme, it just seemed like you weren't satisfied w/ the answers that you were getting, so I tryed to put it in simple terms.

But I'll take your advice and go elsewhere.

Have a good day.


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## eprobertson (May 4, 2013)

Will the cells ever get too small to be used? Does old dark comb ever need to be scraped off so it can be replaced with new comb?


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

eprobertson said:


> Will the cells ever get too small to be used? Does old dark comb ever need to be scraped off so it can be replaced with new comb?


No, they will keep cleaning it back out. I know a cpl guys who swear some of their comb is more than 50 years old... and I know them well enough to belive them. But many advocate replacing comb on a regular basis, like a rotation most say 3-5 years.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>will the cells ever get too small to be used?

According to Grout, the bees will chew them out when they get too small.

> Does old dark comb ever need to be scraped off so it can be replaced with new comb? 

If you figure that bees have a lower threshold, and that large cell comb (5.4mm) is way over that threshold, that's a lot of extra layers of cocoons before they chew them out. There is some speculation on how that contributes to disease. Then there is the issue of Varroacides if you are using them, building up.

As far as the construction of comb, the most detailed information on it is in Huber's New Observations on Bees Volume II.

The details on his experiments proving these points are too lengthy for quoting here, but his conclusions and observations were this:

"From the experiment the evidence was that the wax of the bees’ rings was less compounded than that which had been built into cells, since the latter was dissolve by the ether while the former remained whole; the one was dissolved by turpentine only in part, while the other was completely dissolved by it.
If the substance taken from the rings of the bees is crude wax, it must undergo some preparation after leaving its cells and the bees must be capable of impregnating it with a substance giving it the ductility and whiteness of true wax. Hitherto, we knew only of its fusibility, but such being the chief property of the combs, we could not doubt that the scales enter in their composition." Vol II Chapter I

"After having chewed and moistened the particles of wax, she deposited them in the edges of the cavity..."Vol II Chapter IV

"In examining the orifices of the yellow cells, we perceived that their circumference was coated with a reddish unctuous, odoriferous varnish, and we recognized, as we thought, the resin called propolis. Afterwards it appeared not to be restricted to the orifices, that reddish threads were sometimes found on their inner walls, upon the rhombs or trapezes; this solder, placed at the points of contact of different pieces, and at the summit of their angles, appeared to help in strengthening the cells; one would sometimes notice one or two reddish zones around the axis of the longest cells: when the bees are short of wax, they are sometimes compelled to interrupt their work; when a more ample supply enables them to laborate the material, they resume the work; it is probably during this interruption that they varnish the edges of the cell, and when the latter have been lengthened, they retain traces of the material with which they had been coated."--Vol II Chapter VI

"After one of these workers had smoothed down the wax in the angle of a cell, she emerged from the cell backwards and having approached a heap of propolis, she drew out a thread of it with her teeth; this being broken off by a quick motion of the head, it was taken in the claws of the forefeet and the bee re-entered the cell which she had just prepared. She did not hesitate but immediately placed it in the angle of the two parts that she had just smoothed, but she probably found it too long for the space required, for she cut away a piece of it; both of her front feet were used to fit it and stretch it between the two walls; and her teeth worked to imbed it in the angular furrow to be lined. After these diverse operations, the thread of propolis evidently appeared too large for her taste; she raked it over with the same instruments and at each time removed a parcel of it: when the work was completed, we admired the accuracy with which it was adjusted between the two walls of the cell. The worker did not stop there, turning to another part of the cell, she worked with her jaws upon the edges of the two other trapezes and we understood that she was preparing a spot to be covered with another thread of propolis. No doubt she was about to help herself out of the heap from which she had taken it previously; but contrary to our expectation she availed herself of the portion of the thread cut off from the first bit, arranged it in the appointed space and gave it all the solidity and finish of which it was susceptible. Other bees finished the work began by this one, all the cell walls were soon encircled with threads of propolis, while some were also put on the orifices; but we could not seize the moment when they were varnished, though it may be easily conceived how it was done."--Vol II Chapter VI

His experiments proved that the yellow color that comes after the bright white was not propolis, nor was it pollen, but something that the bees painted the wax with that changed its properties from soft like putty to tough.

"we found some of which one side was white while the other face was of a jonquil color: we could sometimes find, on the same side of a comb, a space in which the cells were of a lively yellow, while those adjacent had lost none of their whiteness. We could even ascertain the exact limit of this coloration; a single cell having several yellow faces, while others were white, sometimes even one cell was party-colored in white and yellow. This distribution of colors could not be explained through the causes which we suspected of having influence. Honey and pollen would have uniformly tinted all the faces of a cell, up to the height of the liquid or of the coloring substance; the vapors of the hive likewise could have only a general influence upon the color of the combs; but it was necessary to ascertain more directly that these things had nothing to do with the observed effect."--Vol II Chapter VI

He proved that the bees are responsible for the change in color, (again the details of his experiments are lengthy) and his observations on a likely cause are this:

"... the bees which appear to be resting upon the combs, or upon the glass or wood of the hive rub the tip of their mandibles against the object which they are supposed to varnish, moving their head back and forth; their jaws spread apart and come together successively, after each motion of the head; their front legs repeatedly rub with some speed the surface upon which they stand; the bee which is thus occupied walks right and left and continues this maneuver for a long time; the wall of the surface of the comb, to which they apply themselves, appears to change color, though we have not ascertained positively that it was in consequence of this work. We have noticed that there is always a little yellow substance in the cavity of the bees’ teeth: but was this a substance which they were removing or which they were applying upon the wax? It appeared probable that it was being deposited, though while they rubbed both wood and glass in the same way, the glass did not secure any color, but the wood assumed a very pronounced tint.
The second process that we witnessed was per-formed with the trunk; this instrument acted like a slim and soft brush; it swept to the right and left the surface of the glass and appeared to leave upon it a few drops of a transparent liquid. 
At each change of direction we could see a bright and silvery liquid, flowing from the middle of the trunk and of the two longest palpi which surround it; this liquid was distributed from the end of the trunk upon the parts of cells for which it was intended; it was also deposited upon the glass, but not so as to tarnish it; for the opacity which glass sometimes acquires is not due to this cause; this happens only when the bees spread upon it parcels of wax which have been deposited upon its surface.
We shall not affirm which of these operations is the source of the yellowness of wax, but we incline to refer it to the first, because we often thought the color of certain cells altered, after the bees had rubbed them with their teeth and forelegs."--Vol II Chapter VI

All of these add to the changes in that bright, white, soft comb becoming darker, tougher, yellower. Then we add traffic, and cocoons over the years.


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## southparkbees (Jun 9, 2013)

Thank you for this thread! I am a first-year bee keeper and was a little dismayed today when I checked my hive and noticed discoloration on the recently vacated brood cells. I took a photo of the queen and you can see that there are darkened areas in the seams of the brood cells. I have been taking photos as I go and I may keep taking photos of this particular frame to see how much the cells darken over time. (I love the cell with the bee chewing her way out!)










As a side note, my hive has comb built just in the last 5 days that is very very bright yellow - not the white I saw earlier.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

It can only be new, once.

I removed this from the hive, when it looked like this -->










And I've kept it in my living room as an object of art, to look at and admire. It has been a little more than a year now, and it has aged to a nice light tan color.


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

Joseph, I have a nuk lid that looks just like your picture. It came from a swarm trap where I only put a couple frames in. It's in my dining room as I also like the looks of it. When I need a frame of empty comb I know where I can get one. I will cut the large piece and rubberband it into a frame. Until then, artwork.


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