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Monster Cutout

924 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Mike S, 
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Cut out a big hive Monday from a farm house.

http://www.buffalolick.com/Images.php?view=preview&q=&category=1&ImageGalleryPage=2&image=41

Owner says bees in this wall since 1968. Comb looks old, but how would you tell if it is 42 years old? Surely the bees recycle, renew the wax. I imagine the hive probally crashed and was reoccupied many times over those years...still very interesting story. Same house had a hive in the front wall.
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Cut out a big hive Monday from a farm house.

http://www.buffalolick.com/Images.php?view=preview&q=&category=1&ImageGalleryPage=2&image=41

Owner says bees in this wall since 1968. Comb looks old, but how would you tell if it is 42 years old? Surely the bees recycle, renew the wax. I imagine the hive probally crashed and was reoccupied many times over those years...still very...
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Very cool. Did you get the queen? I did a cut out of a hive last year. The hive had been there for over a decade. I'm not sure how long it was continually occupied though. The comb was thick and black as night. I melted the wax down in a solar melter and was surprised it didn't end up much darker than my regular cappings.

I don't know of any way to tell the age of the hive by the comb. Mine wasn't 42 years old yet it couldn't get any darker.
 
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