In a message dated 96-09-02 22:53:12 EDT, you write: << I assume the wax debris is from removed cappings. I'm puzzeled by the dead bees. Could this be a result of inter-colony fighting? I have a couple of other supers with old honey I would like to recycle by the above method and then extract. Has anybody else tried this? Am I doing anything wrong here? >> Yup. If you allow uncontrolled robbing, a lot of the honey you are attempting to recycle will end up in the stomachs of dead bees. Plus you may well have bees jump a weaker hive and rob it out too. Put the super you want to save over an inner cover after scratching the comb to open up the cells. Make sure the entrances are reduced and there are no cracks in the upper part of the hive.