# what to do with cross comb now



## little lion (Jun 4, 2013)

I was trying to correct cross comb in the honey storage area of the hive. I didn't know they had already stored capped honey there. It was a mess for about 4 bars with one really drawn out frame. It all collapsed into the bottom of the hive. I tried to reattach, but couldn't figure it out, so I crushed and am planning to feed back the honey I collected. It's early June here in North Carolina and I am hoping they will have time to build up for the winter. I have a grapefruit size ball of wax as well. Will they reuse this wax?

kept bees for a long time in langstroms, but this is my first TBH. Would appreciate some feedback.


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## KPeacock (Jan 29, 2013)

any wax i remvoe during inspections I leave out i nthe open for them to clean up for a day or two. then i tke it and toss it into a 5gal bucket with a lid on it. it'll get melted down with the rest of the wax as I need it, or as the bucket becomes full.


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## ositolud (Feb 24, 2013)

I had a couple of cross comb mishaps and even one comb of drone brood collapse from heat this spring. When I couldn't get any of it to reattach I just left it in the bottom of the hive hoping they might use it to build new comb. They did chew down the cell walls after a few days, but I think they used that mainly to connect the comb to the bottom of the hive, making a new lovely mess for me. Now all that wax has been used by my wife to make hand lotion.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

They won't mess with a chunk of wax, but they will harvest wax shavings. I also collect all the wax and then render it in a solar oven to make candles and such.


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## little lion (Jun 4, 2013)

I thought about just leaving it in the bottom too, and maybe should have hoping if I did that they would just rob it there and I could reattach it once it was empty. What will you do next now that they have attached to the bottom? I would just harvest that when the time came. Did they rob out the honey?


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

Leaving comb in the bottom of the hive with pollen and honey is not advised where small hive beetles are found. It will become a breeding ground. Also, the bees will attach it to the walls/floor. I had a bad comb collapse once and what I did was prop the combs in a rectangular plastic tub on the hive floor. The bees finished hatching out the larvae and cleaned out the pollen and honey. Small hive beetles and larvae began to occupy it, so I simply chased out the remaining bees and put a lid on the tub and removed everything. I drowned the beetles and larvae (the larvae are very tough and took a long time to drown) and then rendered the wax.


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## honeybeebee (Jan 27, 2013)

Leave it out until the girls clean it up..then make a candle...It will make you smile....


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## ositolud (Feb 24, 2013)

Jon Wolff, how do you give the wax shavings to your hives? I have had one hive set back somewhat this year due to loss from cross comb and my inability to reattach it to the bars.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

After rendering the wax into a block, I take a knife and shave off however much it takes to cover the bottom of a hive. I did that with my last two hives and the bees have completely used it all.


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Good idea, never thought of that! Maybe use a cheese grater.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

A cheese grater might work even better as the wax shavings would be finer. I'm a woodcarver, so using a knife was my default choice.


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

I'm a overweight so I'm more likely to have a cheese grater handy.


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## honeybeebee (Jan 27, 2013)

Mmmmm...cheese...I like this thread already...


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## SteveBee (Jul 15, 2010)

Are you sure they're not just hauling off the wax shavings? I haven't heard of them reusing wax.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

I have observation hives, and from what I could tell, the bees seemed to be working the shavings rather than hauling them off. I haven't found any shavings under the entrances.


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

I've wondered if maybe they use it for cappings. I've seen them take unused wax and do something with it. Not sure, but it is smaller after a while.


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## little lion (Jun 4, 2013)

I left the comb in the bottom that broke into pieces...should have put it into a shallow pan so they wouldn't attach to the bottom screen.They cleaned it out and I reattached using coated floral wire. Next time this happens, I think I am going to make a sling out of cardboard and use the floral wire as my attaching material. It was really easy to work with. 

I am going to give them the wax and grate it down like previous threads have suggested.

When I looked into the hive through the bottom screen, they were already clustered around the pieces of comb at the frame (like 20 minutes later). They are amazing creatures and diligent.

One of the things I really like about TBH is that I don't have to disturb everything by ripping the "roof" off. The bees at the front of the hive just keep working.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

> the bees have completely used it all. 

I'll bet if you dig down through the grass in front of the hive you'll see where they used it...


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## NewJoe (Jul 1, 2012)

from my little bit of experience, after the bees clean the comb up real good, they pretty much ignore it if it is somewhere out of there way...like on top of the inner cover....then I steal it from them and I recycle.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

True. I have comb like that in an "attic" of one hive. The bees cleaned it out and now ignore it. Shavings were something I added this last time to help prep the hives for new packages. I guess I'll skip it next time.


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