# Can the bees recycle wax?



## rand (Nov 14, 2009)

My girls started wild building of cells on the cilling and inside the feeder.

I was reading that wax secretion is the most energetic effort the bee does.

Just thought that maybe i will collect the wild wax, smash it and put it on the hive floor. can the bees use it for normal foundation or capping building?



Thanks,
Randi


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## honeybeekeeper (Mar 3, 2010)

No they can not recycle wax. They can rebuild but not recycle! You can save the wax and melt it down for making candles or to sell etc...


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## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

If you use plastic foundation you can paint melted wax onto the plastic and it will help with acceptance.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

They can, as they do in brood comb. They will not use any or much as you are suggesting.


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## rand (Nov 14, 2009)

Thanks alot for the answers

more then one "NO" make it clear


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

So many beekeepers say no, but I've watched my bees fly away with loads of cappings wax on their legs. They must be using it for something.:scratch:


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## standman (Mar 14, 2008)

About the only time I have seen them do it to any extent was in building a queen cell when there was a shortage of fresh wax. I surmise (perhaps mistakenly) that the lack of fresh wax was due to no natural flow of nectar coming into the hive. When I don't start feeding early enough before introducing a grafted queen cell, the wax will be noticeably darker.
Of course, they could be doing this all the time, but it is easier to identify when they are doing something special like building out a queen cell. Usually, the need for fresh wax to draw comb coincides with a flow of nectar. Nice design, I think.
I do think that they will deposit wax on top bars and as burr comb when they don't have a place to build fresh comb. I also think that is a trigger for swarm behavior. I could be wrong about it all.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

I agree with KQ6AR. I've seen numerous times during clean up activities that the bees will collect wax capping particles. Don't know what they are using it for, but they take it with them.


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## Kingfisher Apiaries (Jan 16, 2010)

I specifically asked Dr Larry Connor this question when he was down here. He thinks that cappings wax that you try to give them is "outside" their "cycle". Cappings from brood, queen cells they take down, cappings they pull off the capped honey, etc, are "inside" their "cycle". Any thoughts on this? 

Mike


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## Pink Cow (Feb 23, 2010)

Can it simply be a matter of "Some Will, Some Won't", "Some Do, Some Don't"?

Our bees collect all types. Cappings, burr comb left out, old frames left out, crazy new comb scraped off of frames, starter strips in frames, etc. Don't know if all those are in the cycle or out, and the bees don't seem to care.

I can't imagine they'd waste the energy to collect it all if they don't have a use for it.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

I know lots of cycles, bi-, motor-, thermo-, but I have no idea what cycle Dr Connor was talking about.


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## Kingfisher Apiaries (Jan 16, 2010)

The hive cycle. Outside the workings of the hive. Intoducing something that is not natural to them. Need more synonyms? 

mike


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

I'll allways leave a few pieces of burr comb on top of the hive. Towards the end of the season mostly, they'll be going after it, why? I assume recycle for some reason, they pack it on their back legs and off they go.


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## honeybeekeeper (Mar 3, 2010)

No, Honey bees can not recycle wax!


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

I don't know if the terms recycle - reuse are interchangeable here, but my bees collect wax from new PF-120 frames, they pack it in their pollen baskets and carry it away. They do this with other combs too, those that are left out.

An experiment -- take a nice new freshly made comb, one made with all nice, virgin, almost white wax. Make a nice gash in it with a small stick, place it into the center of the brood nest, pull it out the next day and examine it. Those I've seen were repaired, but not with obviously nice new white or yellow wax that could be mistaken for new wax, but with a mixture of different colors of wax, some quite dark and apparently old reused wax. Maybe they don't reuse old wax to build new comb, but they sure use it to repair damage. Seems like it's recycled, to me.


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

> recycle or
> reuse


That is the question:scratch:


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

Let's throw another re word in, rework! Sorry couldnt help it


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I was reading that wax secretion is the most energetic effort the bee does.

Doubtful, but a commonly held belief.

>Just thought that maybe i will collect the wild wax, smash it and put it on the hive floor. can the bees use it for normal foundation or capping building?

They will haul it out for trash. I have left cappings out many times and never seen any collected. I have seen the gather some propolis from old equipment, but never wax.

The bees do not share the opinion that making wax is that expensive...


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