From: "Dave Cushman" <dave.cushman@lineone.net>
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 09:41:11 -0000
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: clean wax for organic production

Hi Dee

----- Original Message -----
From: deelusbybeekeeper <deelusbybeekeeper@excelonline.com>

> Well, to us the wax was too yellow and would break too fast and the bees
> would find it too clean. So we took whole heaping handfulls, with two hands
> together and threw it into the wax melting/dipping pots, to darken the wax
> before dipping foundation.

When bees produce comb they do so from pure wax... Until the comb is
finished, then they add propolis (and a few grains of pollen) to the rims of
the cells. This stiffens the comb and provides an antiseptic mat for them to
walk on. By adding propolis into the melted wax then producing foundation
you may improve the ductility of the sheets but the particles of propolis
will make it difficult for the bees to draw out the foundation so they may
well treat it as a mid rib and add wax to it rather than draw it out
completely (as they would do if the propolis were not present).

The only brittleness I have noted is with foundation that has been cast in a
press. Foundation that has been milled (or mangled between plates) is much
more pliable.

Regards From:- Dave Cushman, G8MZY
Beekeeping and Bee Breeding, website
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman