Well, guys, I did not say that wax moths were not present here in
Upstate NY, I said 'they were not a problem'.

Roger Morris, formerly chief honcho for beekeeping at Cornell,
maintained that no larvae, eggs, or adults could survive over the
winter in an unheated area in Ithaca, NY.  Ithaca winters are
considerably warmer than here.  Roger maintained that all wax moths in
Ithaca came north in the summer.  Either by natural means or, more
likely, by migratory beekeepers.  Roger did not make statements
likely, so I presume he has good basis for these statements, but I
have always doubted them.

Nonetheless, I use July 1 for a date when the first wax moths will be
seen and I know others that do likewise.  That gives them July, August
and most of September.  Not a really long time.  I have never found a
dead hive fully infested with wax moths and, unfortunately, because of
Varroa I have seen my full share of dead and empty hives in late
August and September.

I also agree with the two observations, (1) I have never seen feral
comb as dark as that I have seen in the hives of commercial beekeepers
(I was an inspector for a time), (2) many feral hives die off and the
cavities and comb are reestablished by swarms.  But I was in
beekeeping for 20+ years before Varroa.

The questions remain...is it accurate that feral comb is recycled
regularly; why don't we see real black comb in feral colonies; if the
recycling goes on 'naturally', what is the mechanism and why doesn't
it occur in beekeeper hives?


--
Lloyd Spear
Owner Ross Rounds, Inc.
Manufacture of equipment for round comb honey sections,
Sundance Pollen Traps, and producer of Sundance custom labels.
Contact your dealer or www.RossRounds.com

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