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I was melting a bunch of comb last night when I noticed the the last combs weren't melting . They were paper like , They were old and dark I havn't seem this yet . I used a lighter on the edge of the last comb and it burnt like crazy , Have other keepers seen this ? is it something to worry about ?
Welcome to Beesource!
Perhaps some other creature made the "comb" that was "paper like". Perhaps paper wasps moved in? :eek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_wasp
Nope honey bee Ck out photo on FB Art K Moss you can see a piece of it burning laying on snow , deffinitly
came out of Honey bee hive .
In brood comb there is a lining similar to a cocoon. ( I can't recall the name of it.) It gets thicker and heavier with each batch of brood. If you melt the wax off gently it will leave this wax soaked, paper like structure in the exact shape of the comb. I did this in a solar wax melter. I think most people never see this because they crush the comb before melting to get more in the pot. It shows up as what is called "slum gum".
Can we post pictures on here ? This after melting was large whole cell pieces i corralled and grabbed out with tongs thats when I notced it was paperlike and I looked at the last piece and notced it actually had a shine and fibre to it , the slum you speak of is likened to slag on melted metal as if impurities correct ?
These bees of mine have about a 30% evil streak in them , maybe part wasp ? Stupid question I know, the honey is great , Maybe after so many generations in the same brood the wax turns to paper ? I've a small piece of it left that suicidal bees crawled in and died and that I could not jarr out , I'll take it to the Febuary meeting and ask the guru'es if they've seen it B4. prolly just a real old brood but paper always put me into a wasp mindset ,
Welcome TCT2E! Brood comb is laced with cocoons and does not melt well.
The cocoons build up over time. Enough cocoons will absorb all the wax. I always sort my wax and only do brood combs together and white wax together. Brood combs can actually cost you wax sometimes.
Didn't see the photo on FB. but found you're page no problem.