Killer Wax

[Crockford]

I know Bee Wax is used in numerous things related to MLing. I went on my first whitetail hunt of the season this afternoon . Had a wonderful afternoon, saw five bucks and several doe. I took a picture of a few of them with my phone.

But I did not pull the trigger on any of them. I was just enjoying being out and seeing what I could see.
I also noticed and odd bee hive right behind where I was sitting. About ten yards behind me. I could see bees on it that looked like honey bees. ( I have a few bee boxes at my house with honey bees in them.) They looked a little different and I have never seen a honey bee hive out in the open like this. They are usually in a hollow tree, or in the siding of an old house that has a hole in it. We have freezing weather in winter so all the hives I have seen are protected from the elements. I'm in Central Alabama. The nest looked like this.

Is this a killer bee hive?
I didn't get any closer because the bees were active and I didn't want to provoke them. I will try to harvest the nest on a freezing morning....
I was wondering..... if this Wax was used in a mixture to lube my bullets, would they be more deadly. Kinda like a poison dart. Would they be Killer Bullets?
If anyone has ever worked with these bees, please give me some advice. If anyone has any recipes/formulas please share.

 

[TDM]

Nice couple of Bucks! Those are most likely regular Honeybees, unfortunately a spring/summer swarm may not choose wisely on where they decide to start building comb. And they pay the price by not surviving the winter. They won’t make it, so unless you’ve got an empty box to put them in, the queen and all will be dead after the next freeze. I keep bees too, but I’m going to sell everything this spring if I can. I’ll miss them, but just don’t feel like fooling with them anymore.

 

[oldwood]

Never saw wax combs in the open like those. My old WW-1 bee keeper buddy , Albert , never talked of such a thing either, These bees must be something extraordinary , 'cause their combs are out in the open , and ground critters would have a field day , with the sweets.

 

[TDM]

Never saw wax combs in the open like those. My old WW-1 bee keeper buddy , Albert , never talked of such a thing either, These bees must be something extraordinary , 'cause their combs are out in the open , and ground critters would have a field day , with the sweets.

While it’s not common, you will find some swarms do this down south. They swarm, but never find a suitable natural hive and just start building where they stop. But they don’t survive even a southern winter. In the past I’ve captured wild colonies that had already built comb on tree limbs.

 

[Crockford]

I may try to get them into a box. The bees looked a little darker , like they had more black on them.

 

[TDM]

I may try to get them into a box. The bees looked a little darker , like they had more black on them.

Where are you located?

 

[Crockford]

Prattville, Al

 

[TDM]

Prattville, Al

Ok, good. You shouldn’t have to worry about any Africanized bees there. I’m not a bee expert at all, though I’ve had them for 8 years. I’ve noticed that wild bees can be darker. The few hives I have left are all wild caught. They may be darker too and I’ve just gotten use to them. While any hive can turn mean over time, I really like wild caught bees, they’re hardier and mine are very docile for the most part.

 

[BillRob]

I know Bee Wax is used in numerous things related to MLing. I went on my first whitetail hunt of the season this afternoon . Had a wonderful afternoon, saw five bucks and several doe. I took a picture of a few of them with my phone.View attachment 177258View attachment 177259
But I did not pull the trigger on any of them. I was just enjoying being out and seeing what I could see.
I also noticed and odd bee hive right behind where I was sitting. About ten yards behind me. I could see bees on it that looked like honey bees. ( I have a few bee boxes at my house with honey bees in them.) They looked a little different and I have never seen a honey bee hive out in the open like this. They are usually in a hollow tree, or in the siding of an old house that has a hole in it. We have freezing weather in winter so all the hives I have seen are protected from the elements. I'm in Central Alabama. The nest looked like this.View attachment 177260
Is this a killer bee hive?
I didn't get any closer because the bees were active and I didn't want to provoke them. I will try to harvest the nest on a freezing morning....
I was wondering..... if this Wax was used in a mixture to lube my bullets, would they be more deadly. Kinda like a poison dart. Would they be Killer Bullets?
If anyone has ever worked with these bees, please give me some advice. If anyone has any recipes/formulas please share.

I don't know a thing about bees, other than to generally avoid them - but I got a good laugh about the poison darts and killer bullets. Well done!

 

[Crockford]

Good news, not killer bees! But they will have a new home and not freeze to death.

I will relocate them to my house!

 

[woodsnwater]

Well done! We need all the honey bees we can get.

 

[oldwood]

Thanks guys , for the honey bee education. I had forgotten most of what my WW-1 ,bee keeper friend , Albert , taught me. I used to go with him to help recover bees from old abandoned buildings . He never wore his bee net hat , and I would have to pick the stingers out of his face with his ever present tweezers and tiny mirror/magnifier. He used to crack me up .He would give the bees a whiff of smoke , to calm them , and talk to the swarm like a bee whisperer. Albert would wear one of his green coal miner long sleeve cotton work shirts , and an old worn straw hat to protect his crew cut head. Said getting stingers in his hair was unpleasant. Like no kukka.......I miss ya Albert......oldwood

 

[Crockford]

They have a new home. I built this hive 10 or so years ago so my kids could see the bees working. I bought a box of bees and they left out the same week I put them in it. Maybe these will stay.

I stopped by a guy's house who appeared to be a beekeeper on the way home. I introduced myself and showed him a picture of the nest. He was excited that I saved them. I asked for any advice and he was more than happy to share some with me.
I told him I found it while muzzleloader hunting and how I liked the old guns. During our conversation he said hold on, he walked into his barn and came out with this.

A full pound of 4F and about half of pound of 2F!! He said he didn't have any need for it. I offered to pay but he said enjoy! I thought to myself, what are the odds of that. We talked for an hour or so and I feel I have made a new friend.
All from going hunting yesterday!

 

[TDM]

Good news, not killer bees! But they will have a new home and not freeze to death. View attachment 177375View attachment 177376
I will relocate them to my house!

Awesome!!

 

[TDM]

They have a new home. I built this hive 10 or so years ago so my kids could see the bees working. I bought a box of bees and they left out the same week I put them in it. Maybe these will stay.View attachment 177421View attachment 177422
I stopped by a guy's house who appeared to be a beekeeper on the way home. I introduced myself and showed him a picture of the nest. He was excited that I saved them. I asked for any advice and he was more than happy to share some with me.
I told him I found it while muzzleloader hunting and how I liked the old guns. During our conversation he said hold on, he walked into his barn and came out with this.View attachment 177426
A full pound of 4F and about half of pound of 2F!! He said he didn't have any need for it. I offered to pay but he said enjoy! I thought to myself, what are the odds of that. We talked for an hour or so and I feel I have made a new friend.
All from going hunting yesterday!

Dang! Double win!

 

[TDM]

@oldwood the honeybees are interesting animals. I’ve enjoyed keeping them but I’ve had my fun and I will try and sell everything by spring. The one thing I’ll miss is that I keep three 5 gallon buckets of water by the cabin for the bees to drink from. I try to always keep them filled to the top to make it easier for them. When it’s hot there will be bees encircling the rims for a drink like a bunch of cows! Sometimes I’ll just sit and watch them. But I’m hoping to get enough money for all the stuff to buy a nice Northwest Trade gun kit!

 

[DuncNZ]

Nice one Crockford , It is great to see the bees being saved , If you get a bee sting don't try to pull the sting out , all you do is squeeze the venom into your flesh , use a knife and scrape the venom sack off at skin level , just don't cut yourself .

 

[Piquant]

I don't keep bees but a friend does. He gives me the combs and I extract the wax from them for lube and candles.

 

[2 shots]

very cool stuff guys

 

[TDM]

I don't keep bees but a friend does. He gives me the combs and I extract the wax from them for lube and candles.

That’s a good friend you got Piquant! I keep a couple of hives but I rarely take any of the comb. So I’m always running short of wax!