Many beekeepers online have told me

that my comb is too dark. I haven't seen any ill effect of this, but still the same I'm going to start cycling out the old comb to be replaced with new.

So, What is there to do with the old comb?

It doesn't melt. It ends up like clumpy old wax paper. You can't eat it. Well, I wouldn't try. There has to be a good way to use this material. I have too much to use in swarm bait boxes.

I looked around on the interwebz to see if I could come up wth a solution. One site told a story about how a beekeeper was using it in the smoker as a fuel. I believe he was mixing it with wood chips and dried grasses.

Today I tried to use some old comb today in the smoker.

The results?

Well, it burned very nicely. The smoker lit fast and stayed lit easily. I mixed it with small wood chips that we buy as small cage bedding. The smoke was not too dark and didn't seem too hot.

If my memory serves me well (sometimes it does not) that article (I couldn't find it for reference) claimed that the burning comb simulated a hive on fire and put the bees to work faster protecting their hive. I don't know if that part is true, but it make some sense I guess.

Today's little test seemed like a winner to me. I get to use this old dark comb as a resource to make my beekeeping easier. Otherwise it would have just ended up in the trash.

Do you burn old comb? Do you have another use for it?

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