Who is making this wax?

770 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by davemal, Apr 22, 2020

davemal

Discussion Starter · Apr 18, 2020

It was in high 60s a few days ago. Just for fun, I put this Boardman feeder out and the bees were all over it. I am in mid-MD. I returned the next morning. Cool. Overcast. And noticed the feeder and platform it was sitting on were speckled all over with bits of wax. Who would be depositing this wax? Bees of wax-building age are still house bees so do not fly, right? Are foragers making this wax? Are their wax glands spitting out bits of wax for them to work with and attach to the feeder despite their age?

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Hoot Owl Lane Bees

· #2 · Apr 18, 2020

Is it wax or sugar drops that have evaporated?
Put some water on them and see if they dissolve.

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Akademee

· #3 · Apr 18, 2020

It is probably not wax, I think it might be sugar water, maybe even mixed with pollen. Could also be deposits from other insects. You are right, the bees of wax bearing age have not left the hive yet and foragers are very poor wax makers. They CAN be, plasticity of castes and all, but that usually only happens during swarming.

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ericweller

· #4 · Apr 19, 2020

My guess is that it is not wax but bee poop.

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davemal

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 22, 2020

EPILOGUE: You guys were correct. I returned a couple days later after a rain and all my spots of "wax" were gone! Must have been precipitate from smudges of syrup left behind by the foragers.

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Who is making this wax?

davemal

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