Mike,
Bees can consume honey as the needs change. Bees are almost always producing wax, but when need arises they can hold more honey for longer to produce more wax than if they are eating just enough to satisfy nutritional requirements.
I could very well be wrong, but I was taught that AFB was so pervasive and prolific as to exist through the bee's digestive tract. Perhaps it is more accurate that wax gets recontaminated with AFB on exit from the glands, but I am fairly convinced that AFB is found on new wax also when a swarm absconds a AFB infected hive.
Scot Mc Pherson
McPherson Family Honey Farms
Davenport, IA
Bradenton, FL
http://linuxfromscratch.org/~scot/http://beewiki.linuxfromscratch.orghttp://groups.yahoo.com/groups/OrganicBeekeepers/
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---
