From: "deelusbybeekeeper" <deelusbybeekeeper@excelonline.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2001 12:09:57 -0800
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: Clean wax for Organic Production?

Hi to all on Biological Beekeeping

Dave Cushman wrote:

> PDB Crystals.
>
> As far as I can tell... Any residue will be vapourised in an ordinary solar
> wax melter.

Reply:

This is true along with hot water bathing as you can smell and PDB in the
combs volitizing in the air above the wax press as the wax floats to the
surface of the water. But not so with other chemicals like fluvalinate and
coumaphos.

> There is the added benefit of a little sun bleaching that will reduce some
> of the staining caused by contact with propolis and some pollens.

Reply:

This is true. But the UV light is blocked by the glass in the solar wax
melters and thus keeps chemicals i.e. fluvalinate from photodegradating.
Only direct sunlight will do that and then only on the surface with
extremely limited penetration into the wax layed out, thus necessating
extrmely thin sheets of wax for the process. Thus, at 9-10 sheets or so to
the pound, thinly made blank sheets of foundation,layed out in the sun and
then flipped in a couple of days and then brought in two days later, might
be as photodegradationable for fluvalinate, as we are going to get prior to
milling, to drop down residue levels

> Dee says that colour is a "state of mind", but freshly generated beeswax is
> totally colourless... So any dye or discolouration has to be considered a
> contaminant.

Reply:

Yes it is Dave, but a natural dye/discolouration put in by the bees
themselves that really darkens wax black over a couple of short seasons.
When processed and the wax is lightened, much has been removed (by us
waterbathing once). Also Dave, by the bees adding the propolis, it helps
control disease universally (i.e. even called "Balm of Gilead" for healing
over the centuries), and also, it is a natural dying, and thus a natural
organic compound, wanted there by the bees themselves for healthy living.

All I am doing is either watrbathing our wax to lighten from black grades to
olive green/brownish grades (which removes mush propolis, etc, but still
leaving a fair amount). As for taking propolis and adding to very yellow wax
or white wax, I would say that to lay in the broodnest, the bees have to
darken it first. This is known fact and is what makes for the sterility of
the broodnest and thus no disease in Nature in the feral. Thus to make
foundation to place into the broodnest, then to follow suit,thus following
the bees, must not I darken it first then too with a little propolis? They
do seem to accept the foundation better. A smell of home?

Now I could not say this if I did indeed dye the wax, because outside dye of
another source would be contamination, because it would not be natural.

Regards,

Dee