Hi Guys,

I have seen bees tear down old comb walls in standard equipment. But they
never did remove much of the combs midrib. I just don't have much experience
with feral hive comb.

My generalization concerning 'recycling' was based on colony lifespan rather
than on the bee's comb building behavior. Researchers at the Tuscon bee lab
 watched feral colonies before and after the mites. Most colonies survived
about 3 years before the mites and about half span that after mites.

Queen studies done before the mites, by Szabo in Canada, detailed queen
longevity. Most were gone at the end of two seasons and almost all were gone
by the end of three.

So, at about three years most colonies face a crisis, which is probably
queen related. And a number of those colonies fail to recover. Most of the
comb in these failed colonies would be recycled, by moths, racoons, etc,
even in Wyoming. Or maybe especially in Wyoming with all its starving
critters :>)

Regards
Dennis

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