I just moved into this house that came with this compost bin in the backyard. I have never composted but would like to start. I heard that you need to sort of “stir” the compost every once in a while so I go my shovel to “stir” and found some sort of hive in it. No bees or wasps came out so I’m pretty sure it’s abandoned but do I need to take it out or am I fine to leave it? Also, and composting tips would be appreciated since I’m new to this.
by hi_im_laney
4 Comments
Sweetest compost hi’ve ever seen
Looks like beeswax, and I’m honestly not sure what it takes to decompose beeswax. If you wanna harvest it for wax, you can pull them out and melt it down. If you go that route, look up guides for it bc that wax is pretty dirty and would likely require several rounds of processing to get it decently clean.
I would remove, I’m sure the wax would take a long ass time to breakdown
It does indeed look abandoned. The cells are empty without any honey. Either the bees died of starvation or the hive got robbed by other insects (and bees) after they abandoned the hive. What is left is just beeswax.
You could try to compost the wax. If you do then try to break it up into tiny pieces as they will compost faster this way. But beeswax are quite valuable so I would first try to collect as much as possible and then find uses for it or even try to sell it.