In a message dated 99-01-29 07:51:38 EST, you write:
 
<< Another topic for discussion - Apart from the fact that old combs might
 carry  the spores of some disease, is there any other risk involved in
 giving such combs to the bees to rebuild? >>
 
    I have some combs that are probably 30-40 years old, so I know it's
possible for the bees to keep refurbishing them. The Europeans practice a lot
more comb renewal than Americans, and frequently scold us for such lax
methods.
 
    They are probably right, tho it is quite expensive to renew the brood
comb, and there's not a lot of money in beekeeping right now (unless you have
an outside job to support your beekeeping - and you're puttin' it IN).
 
    You mention disease. Of course the major concern is american foulbrood,
but there probably are a number of minor funguses and diseases. When
irradiation is used to kill foulbrood, ALL organisms that live in the boxes
are, of course, also killed. Those who have done this usually observe the bees
do remarkably well.
 
    At midsummer, I dumped a hive a couple years ago, that had foulbrood, onto
foundation and fed them heavily. They popped out the foundation immediately,
as a swarm would, then built back into a very strong colony. In the spring,
they made twice the honey the others in the yard made. So  there's two
anecdotal evidences of the fact that renewing comb is a good idea.
 
    Another factor that is sometimes mentioned, is that the cocoons of the
pupae are left in the cell each time they emerge. These are very thin, but
eventually the cell becomes quite a bit smaller than normal, and so bees do
not develop into full size in old brood comb.
 
    There's no question in my mind that old comb should be renewed
periodically, the question being, where is the point of economic advantage.
For me I think perhaps every ten years is what I should shoot for.......
 
Dave Green
www.pollinator.com