wax moths

What’s in Your Freezer?

Forget the wallet. There’s nothing in there but club cards to stores I frequent. What’s in the freezer is a much more interesting topic.

Certain current and former colleagues will recall a Christmas party at our house at which we revealed little freezer bags filled with skinned squirrels, frozen in all their scrawny nakedness. The ensuing conversation revolved around all the staff members who had ever eaten squirrel. Based on the number of people who had eaten squirrel, one would not have thought that we were advanced degreed educators living a mere hour from the sophistication of Washington D.C.

In our defense, I must say that those squirrels ended up in a very tasty French recipe,soaked for three days in cognac. Ok, I personally couldn’t eat the meat,having watched the squirrels splayed on the ping pong table being skinned, but it was quite a flavorful stew.

Then there was our (third) daughter’s wedding where the groom had to be warned not to open the green trash bag in the mancave freezer. It contained a decapitated deer head, with antlers of course, awaiting a trip to the taxidermist. The deer, in all it’s taxidermied glory, now watches over football games wearing a Raven’s cap. The freezer is currently available for things like ice cubes.

My niece’s husband recently got a deer with a very nice rack on it and he wondered if he could store the head in our freezer. Ha ha, no. John suggested he put it in his father-in-law/my brother’s freezer. I’m guessing that went well…I haven’t heard yelling from my brother yet.

Our currant unorthodox freezer arrangement involves bee hives. Bee hives can not just sit around in the mud room. Critters like them. Ants, for starters. And wax moths, for keeps. After spinning the honey in July, the honey box sat in the mud room for a little while. To ensure that no unauthorized squatters had taken up residence, Mr. Beekeeper put the frames on ice. A little time locked in the freezer will kill off unwanted pests.

The difference between freezer storage versus fridge storage is that stuff can stay in the freezer indefinitely. It might get freezer burn, but it doesn’t get moldy or liquefy and drip into every inaccessible crevice. It sits there gathering ice crystals until you have to make room for something else. It may be inedible, but it doesn’t smell bad. Hey, my mom used to put garbage in the freezer so it wouldn’t stink up the trash.

The current batch of hive frames will be ousted soon. We have a dead hive whose hive box has been taken over by wax moths that need to die. Freezer as execution chamber. Some people store dead stuff in the freezer till trash night. Others store stuff in the freezer to kill it off.

So what’s in your freezer? And don’t tell me it is full of apple pies and peach cake. I will believe you but I will be bored.

September Bees–and Moths for the Freezer

Happy healthy Hive A

Happy healthy Hive A

The honey bees are busy with the last burst of blooming weeds that cause humans so much distress, so bee season has not quite ended here.  However, we have not inspected the bees in awhile.  A gorgeous summery weekend in early fall was a great opportunity.  (Especially since the next two weekends will find us on the road.)

 

Lots of brood in Hive A.

Lots of brood in Hive A.

The good news from the bee yard is that Hive A is strong and healthy.  No honey from them, but we did not really expect any this first year.  Hive D, the provider of our July harvest, has several frames of capped honey in the second honey  box.  Mr. Beekeeper decided to leave the honey box on a bit longer because the goldenrod is still blooming and (the real reason), because he did not bring the fume board with him to enable us to take the honey.  So there’s some fun to look forward to…a little fall harvest.  To those of you who are weeping desperate little tears hoping for honey, I’ll let you know what we have when we get it all into jars.

A peek at the fall harvest.

A peek at the fall harvest.

And now for the beekeeper worries…

Small hive beetles can ruin a hive and its harvest by breeding in the bee's brood cells.

Small hive beetles can ruin a hive and its harvest by breeding in the bee’s brood cells.

Small hive beetles were seen in Hive B.  This is not ok.  There are a variety of ways to eliminate them, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.  On the chemical side, Checkmite+ is  a varroa mite control that will also deal with beetles.  It is authorized for use in Maryland.  However, Mr. Beekeeper already bought Apistan for fall application against varroa this season, so we won’t be buying Checkmite+.  It also is a heavy duty chemical attack and the beetles do not seem to be that prolific.

There are non-chemical options for physically trapping the beetles.   Traps vary in design and placement in the hive.  What they have in common is a physical trap for the beetles to fall into and something for them to drown in, like mineral oil, vegetable oil, or vinegar.  One calls for a mixture of water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and ripe banana peel.   That sounds like too much work.   I’m looking at getting a type that hangs between the frames, with a simple oil bath to drown them.  I am fully aware that the bees may seal the thing with propolis, because they like to seal things with propolis.  But these traps are cheap and disposable.

Propolis is the sticky stuff bees make to seal the hive. It's a real pain to get off countertops.

Propolis is the sticky stuff bees make to seal the hive. It’s a real pain to get off countertops.

The hive is dead and full of wax moths. They can do serious damage to the hive structure.

The hive is dead and full of wax moths. They can do serious damage to the hive structure.

Hive C is, alas and indeed, dead.  And completely ruined by wax  moths.  Mr. Beekeeper stopped up the entrance to prevent stray bees from going in and, more importantly, moths from coming out.  There were many cocoons in the hive. He will be removing the hive and putting the frames (wrapped in plastic bags) in the freezer to kill off the moths before cleaning the frames and storing them in plastic for the winter.

What killed off Hive C?  Was it the wax moths? Or was it a weak queen?  This is a hive that survived last winter but has been (along with Hive B which has the beetles) slow to build all season.  Did the queen die and the hive fail to produce its own queen?  Did the moths get established in a weak hive or did they seize the opportunity to take over a dead one?

A puddle in the hive, most likely from condensation.

A puddle in the hive, most likely from condensation.

Hive D continues to thrive but opening the lid revealed a puddle of water, presumably from condensation from inside the hive.  Some online  searching offered many solutions for winterizing the hives to avoid condensation, but it is not winter yet.  I do not have any ideas at the moment, but do know that condensation in the winter freezes, and cold, wet bees die. (Beekeepers, your suggestions are most welcome!)  Aside from water on the lid, the bees were busy in the honey box and several frames have capped honey for us!

So many questions.  Here’s one I know some of you are thinking: What else does she have in her freezer?  And oh, the tales we could tell.  But that’s another post!

Group work. What are they doing? Probably guessing what I've got in my freezer.

Group work. What are they doing? Probably guessing what I’ve got in my freezer.