Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: beewitch on June 28, 2011, 04:33:01 pm
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Hello all - last weekend I successfully harvested a modest amount (but my first!) of honey from my two hives. Because I only had a few frames, I used Linda Tillman's crush method, set it in the strainer bucket and it went very well. I read that the beeswax could be "washed" with warm water and fed back to the bees. So I covered the beeswax with warm water, let it sit, then strained the wax and kept the water. Nice honey aroma, but thin, not syrupy. I wanted to check with you guys first, before I fed this to the bees! Has anyone done this?
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If it's thin, it won't do the bees much good nutritionally, but the scent of honey will bring them to drink the water. If you want them to use a particular water source (to stop annoying neighbors, for example), honey-water is a great way to train them to go to the spot you want.
Just be aware that it will grow mold much faster than thicker syrup. And make sure if you put it out that there are enough ways for the bees to climb back out so they don't drown.
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Thanks! That's exactly what I need to know.