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Few wax worms in comb, can I eat honey?

7247 Views 11 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  lemmje
Hi,
I brought a bar of honey (I have top bar hives) into the house, and it sat for a few weeks before I was going to process it. I just looked at it yesterday and there were some wax worms (wax moth larvae) in the comb, not a lot, maybe 5-10 that I saw and removed. I also cleaned up most of the debris they left (that I can see).

My question is, is there any reason I cant process and eat this honey? I found one article that said it shouldn't be eaten, but it gave no reason. I won't be selling this honey, just consuming it myself. Not sure if they taint the honey somehow? or maybe introduce some sort of bacteria?

Thanks.
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I would. We eat a lot of "things" we buy from the store in nice looking packaging. I would do just as you have done and enjoy it. J
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You can eat the honey. You could have eaten the wax worms if you wanted. Whatever is wrong with eating them is all in your head.

I would not eat the worms. I would not eat wormed honey. I would cut away the unaffected comb and give the affected comb and honey back to the bees. But that's just what I'd do, because the idea of eating the worms and what they crawled through is just yuck! But that is just me and its in my head. I ain't sticking my grafting tool in my mouth either.
There are actually recipes that use wax worms. I saw one for cookies a few years ago. They are supposedly very nutritious. I am opposed to eating them, but it would be no different than eating bee larvae. Bottom line, cut out the areas that have feces in them and strain the honey as usual once extracted.
I would cut out the wormed sections. If it is too difficult to cut out without destroying the comb, I would just feed it back to the bees. In addition to the caterpillar webbing, they are also dropping loads of feces where ever they tunnel. Yuk!
Thanks everyone. That's what I figured, and what I've done in the past, but now I have a 1 year old in the house so I need to be a little more cautious. I'll go ahead and process it. Thanks again.
Put it in the freezer or refrigerator next time
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Thanks everyone. That's what I figured, and what I've done in the past, but now I have a 1 year old in the house so I need to be a little more cautious. I'll go ahead and process it. Thanks again.
You should not give kids under 2 years old honey, I read that the acid is too strong for their digestive system.
The problem isn't really the worms themselves, it's their fecal matter and slime that they leave behind almost everywhere they go, especially if they are boring through the comb. Worms are a great source of protein, their fecal matter, on the other hand, is not recommended for consumption.
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You should not give kids under 2 years old honey, I read that the acid is too strong for their digestive system.
"I read that...", "I heard that..."

And this is how misinformation gets spread.

Botulism spores are present in outdoor products, this is natural and endemic. Well-developed immune systems can handle small amounts of these spores.

Infants under one year of age do not have a sufficiently developed immune system and cannot handle the spores. Generally speaking, most infants cannot consume most raw foods produced outdoors...but this is not the case with honey. Teeth are not required to eat honey, and botulism spores can be present in honey. -This- is why you don't feed honey to infants under one year of age.

It would be nice if people would verify information using a legitimate source instead of just flinging rumors. Haven't we had enough of that over the past year+?
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"I read that...", "I heard that..."

...

It would be nice if people would verify information using a legitimate source instead of just flinging rumors. Haven't we had enough of that over the past year+?
Be nice. You are not wrong, but neither was he. Well, not completely.
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