* Old Comb Was Treasured *

Bob writes:
> The old wives tale that queens prefer dark comb does not hold water for the most part. Bees can clean and polish a cell of new comb faster than old dark comb. Research has shown 45 minutes for a dark cell and about half as long for new comb.

Hmm. What research? Which old wives?

University of Kentucky College of Agriculture:
> Bees usually accept old, dark comb more readily than they accept new comb or foundation.

Andy Nachbaur:
> Most beekeepers find that darker combs are preferred by queens and this maybe because of the heat a old black comb can attract and hold compared to a nice white extracting comb.

Wedmore, in his classic 'Manual of Beekeeping' says:
> He had brood combs that were 27 years old and which served perfectly well. He specifically measured the cell size with a micrometer - to see if successive pupal silk linings caused a thickening of the cell walls; but found no difference from new drawn combs. He also claimed that old dark comb was far better for overwintering because the thicker mid rib provided better insulation.

Bill Ainsworth:
> In the old days, old comb was treasured as a good basis for a swarm or giving more room to a stock, leaving the bees to collect and store honey in the supers, rather than use the honey or nectar to build comb. Times change, with all the virus that we have about, we need to be a lot more concerned to keep the bees on clean comb.

-- 
Pete

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