I’ve posted a lot about my two favorite parts of beekeeping (planting pollinator-friendly flowers & harvesting honey), so I figured it was time to share some other aspects of it – swarm catching and wax rendering.
Capturing Honey Bee Swarms
Craig built his first swarm catcher in the spring of 2020. (Click here for pics of it and a little bit about why beekeepers love catching honey bee swarms.) Since he built it, we’ve hung it in at least three different places and have captured absolutely nothing with it. Despite its uselessness, Craig was still able to capture two swarms this summer using other methods, which is fantastic!! The swarm hives are both still alive and thriving – one on our property, the other on a nearby farm.
Rendering Beeswax
Earlier this week, Craig and I decided to try to make beeswax candles. It was our first time trying it, so we started nice and early – around 9:00 p.m. 😉 I’d heard that making beeswax candles could be challenging (think maple syrup-type labor — where you basically spend hours and hours and hours to get one small 16oz jar), but I was motivated because I wanted to sell adorable, sweet-smelling beeswax candles during our beekeeping Q&A this weekend. (Spoiler alert: I do not have any beeswax candles to sell this weekend.)
(Don’t worry! I do NOT can in the pots we used to try to make beeswax candles.)
We started with a huge bucket of unrendered wax. It was so heavy, I thought we’d get soooooo many candles out of it. Like 100 or more. We took a quarter of the unrendered wax and put it in a double boiler. (I’d bought two inexpensive pots for just this purpose.) Fast forward forty-five minutes or so and we’d basically created a mangled sausage omelette.
It was getting later and I was getting frustrated. I was tempted to throw everything — the crappy, waxy pots; the sticky, gooey half-rendered wax; and the idea of making candles — in the trash. But then I remembered how hard those little bees worked to make it and I couldn’t. So we rendered it again using a different method. Around midnight, we called it quits and left the wax out to cool. In the morning, we were rewarded with a near-perfect disc of wax. For one night’s effort we probably rendered enough wax to make one 4oz candle. Hahaha!
1. Middle English lunatik, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French lunatic, from Late Latin lunaticus, from Latin luna; from the belief that lunacy fluctuated with the phases of the moon.
2. Someone who thinks making beeswax candles will be easy.
Still, with a good night’s sleep, I was able to look at the project more objectively. Most things are difficult in the beginning. Next time, I’ll start earlier and have realistic expectations. It will be messy. There will not be a lot of yield. But it will be worth it!!! (I think.)
What are we bringing to the market?
I’m bringing honey-sweetened jam and preserves – honey lemon apple jam and honey cinnamon pears. I intentionally did not add pectin to the jam, to keep the ingredients all natural. The pears can be added to oatmeal, yogurt, cottage cheese, or just eaten on their own. We still have honey (it will probably sell out by mid-October), as well as some favorites from past market days.
Craig’s bringing some of his beekeeping equipment and would love to answer any questions you have about beginner backyard beekeeping! 🙂
We’ll be at the Hereford Farm Market, 17004 York Road, in Parkton, Maryland, from 9:00 a.m. until noon this Saturday. Look for us at the “Hats & Honey” table beside The Contented Rooster.
Windtree Bee 