[honigbiene]

I have been using Plasticell foundation which comes coated with beeswax. For various reasons (mostly wax moths), the drawn comb on these has been wrecked and now there are large bare spots on the Plasticell where I have scraped it clean. I was wondering if anyone has experience with letting the bees draw out the comb again after the comb has been wrecked. Is it necessary to coat it first with beeswax, or will the bees build good comb on bare Plasticell (without a wax coating)?

 

[RayMarler]

It works much better for me if I rub the bare areas with a small block of beeswax. If I don't do that, the bees resist drawing there and many times they hang the comb out from the foundation. If I do rub the area with beeswax block, then they draw it out fine. I tried it because it seemed it would be quick and much easier than trying to paint with melted wax, and I'm glad I did.

 

[johng]

Yep, just scape off the old wax and wax moth cacoons and melt some bees wax down in a pot, take one of the foam paint brushes and paint on the melted wax. They will drawn the right back out. Ray is right if you don't put on some more wax they may not drawn them back out right.

 

[Oldtimer]

Interested in the replies, I have little experience with plastic frames but converting over to them now because that's what the customers want.

Have found some bare areas on combs from time to time. For me, out in a site somewhere, it is not practical to stop & hassle with melting down wax. Even though that may give the best outcome. So Just want to ask what kind of success you get just rubbing wax on from a block, 100%, or what?

 

[RayMarler]

100% success here, from rubbing wax on using a small block of beeswax. It embeds the wax into the plastic pretty good, gives the bees something to start with I guess. It works very well for those times where there are holes or blank areas in a frame where wax was started the season before but never finished, then the next season they won't touch it again. I'm assuming wax moths or some other reason that the wax coating has been removed, perhaps by the bees themselves to use in brood cappings.

 

[Oldtimer]

Cool.

 

[Lburou]

FWIW, I was given some plastic frames with no wax on them. Bees wouldn't work them. I heated water in a stock pot and melted wax in the hot water. Wax floats on top of the water. Briefly dipping the plastic frames in the hot solution coats the plastic well enough for the bees to readily work them in a flow. A temperature between 180 and 200 degrees F seemed optimum. Leave in the water too long and the frame distorts. It took more wax than you would think. Do it outside and don't get burned. HTH

 

[RayMarler]

100% success here, from rubbing wax on using a small block of beeswax. It embeds the wax into the plastic pretty good, gives the bees something to start with I guess. It works very well for those times where there are holes or blank areas in a frame where wax was started the season before but never finished, then the next season they won't touch it again. I'm assuming wax moths or some other reason that the wax coating has been removed, perhaps by the bees themselves to use in brood cappings.

I feel I need to add something here...
If a flow is on or if I'm feeding, this works great. If there is no flow and/or I'm not feeding, then the bees just rob the wax back off the plastic and won't draw it out, which puts me right back in the same boat of they won't draw out the plastic! If I rub the plastic with beeswax and I am feeding or there is a heavy flow on, then it works great.

 

[Oldtimer]

Thanks, thought that would be the case anyway.

 

[David LaFerney]

Yeah, it's best to work on getting any old, partially drawn or dammaged frames rehabbed early and resist putting the nice new ones in until it is well under way. BTW if you use black foundation you can rub a little wax on and lay them in the sun for a few minutes and it will melt the wax and make them almost like brand new again with very little work. I do that right in the apiary.