Frames must go from the apiary to the processing room and after the season into storage. Both require protection.

Transporting full frames

• Closed boxes or covered containers; full combs in the open trigger robbing immediately
• Frames must not slide; fill empty space
• Keep upright and do not stack on the comb
• Process quickly; do not leave standing for days

Robbing starts at harvest more often than at any other operation, and loose comb is the usual trigger.

Storage after the season

Drawn comb is valuable: it is filled immediately at the next flow while foundation costs energy.

• Cold storage or freezing: The safest method; all stages of wax moth die
• Or light and airy: Frames spaced apart in a light room
• Protected from rodents
• Away from smells; wax takes them up

What a good box must do

• Close bee-tight
• Keep frames spaced so the comb does not touch
• Stack
• Be cleanable

What not to do

Chemical products for stored comb leave residues in wax and return to the cycle through foundation. Cold storage makes them unnecessary.

Comb with pollen

This is what attracts wax moth most. Such comb is not stored unprotected; freezing is the appropriate route here.

Sorting at storage

• Dark brood comb goes out of circulation and is rendered, not stored
• Damaged frames are repaired before storage
• The year marked on the frame shows later which comb is due for replacement