Two weeks ago I picked up my nuc hive and successfully installed it. I was somewhat concerned because I installed in the hive which was the prior home of my (now deceased) first set of bees. It was heavy with (old) honey and had been vacant all spring. It was riddled with hive moths - which was interesting because I got to see my first hive moth larvae. The hive moths tended to leave a fuzzy weblike substance in their wake and their larvae were down in some of the comb (I think). There were 2 cocoons, which I disposed of. Part of me felt guilty installing a fresh new hive in a "used" hive - but I figured the honey and existing healthy comb should at least be an asset for the new ladies. I did the best I could to clean it out - I carved out any hive moth portions and burned out any questionable areas.
Since the nuc came with 5 frames, I had to select 5 old frames to remove. This enabled me to remove the most damaged frames. Now I have a trash bag sack of old wax, old honey and bee and hive moth guts and leavings...ew. Is it possible for me to purify this sack of "ew" to an extent where I could possibly do something useful with the wax? candles? (what else does a person do with wax?) I don't know. It's Friday, so it looks like that might be my Saturday project.
