BBKA Forum

Its always very interesting to hear peoples different experiences from around the country. I think I have maybe seen 2 wax moth in getting on for 10 years here and never had a frame of comb damaged ever by them inside or outside the hive. Probably opened my fat gob too much there going into winter...

I seem to be in a hot spot for wax moth. Even really strong colonies don't escape them. I've had them in brood and super frames.
One year I stored supers containing frames in the shed, I ended up with a wax moth larvae infested shed. They burrowed their way into stored wooden garden furniture as well as the stored wooden hive parts and polynucs. That was the last time supers were stored indoors!

Caroline, you do remind me that I have not seen wax moth in a super frame when it's on a colony. They are only in brood frames.
If anyone doesn't know, the way to get them to appear when you see evidence of them in an active hive is to tap the frame with your hive tool a dozen or so times (best to jolt most of the bees off first) and the wax moth will usually pop its head out from the end of a line of damaged brood. You can then deal with it as you wish.

MickBBKA wrote: ↑

30 Aug 2021, 16:39

I think I have maybe seen 2 wax moth in getting on for 10 years here and never had a frame of comb damaged ever by them inside or outside the hive.

See, there are advantages of living in the Teesside permafrost microclimate

Near zero insect activity.......

Alfred wrote: Ive also got around 30 kilo of wax to render as Im running out of space but I dont want them to access that either.....

Once cappings and blocks are rendered down into solid wax "cheeses" I just wrap them in clingfilm and store them in the shed until I am ready to flog them. To date they never seem to attract moths.

However. A couple of years ago I saved back a few super frames that were particularly nicely capped, wrapped in clingfilm and left in a closed dark cupboard to give to a colleague that particularly likes comb in that form. He changed roles and I didn't see him for a while so forgot about the combs. Unfortunately they must have had wax moth eggs on them. Although the wax had never been bred in, they developed a small colony of large wriggling larvae under the clingfilm.

Even more unfortunately, it was the Other Half who discovered them, along with the now weeping combs in a large puddle of honey spreading over everything in its path. How she laughed. Not.

If you put those combs in the freezer for a couple of days first would that have happened or did the moth get through the clingfilm anyway I wonder.
Can 'retail grade' honey ,either in comb or bucket, be permanently stored in the freezer?

Patrick dont tell me - I have to regularly carry out compensatory good deeds for fauxpas that have caused disamusent.

I am sure you are right Alfred - freezing them first would have prevented the problem. I will be honest I did not think wax moth would be any issue. Next time, the freezer is the first step.

Took out a pile of supers so I could start to place them on colonies. Very annoyingly, 7 supers were damaged by wax moth. They had been frozed before storage and I thought that they were sealed up.
Sadly not.

Sods
I've been changing floors today and had to hive-tool a good many.