Description
The worker base premier foundation of choice for most beekeepers. The diagonal wiring strengthens the wax.
Thornes have manufactured foundation at Rand for over 50 years and on which base their reputation as being the leading manufacturer of beeswax foundation in the UK.
Why is there so much colour variation in beeswax foundation, when new pure beeswax is white?…
Beeswax is naturally different colours.
The colour of beeswax is determined by pollen from plants on which the bees are foraging, and propolis produced by the bees themselves.
The colour is not important to the bees, it is the purity of the wax.
Some of the purest beeswax is from Africa, the wax is often very dark and has a smoky aroma but the bees love it! The bonus with this source of wax is its purity from chemicals, as beekeepers in Africa rarely use them. This African wax, along with British and Irish wax, is combined to produce our premier foundation.
Consistently bright yellow beeswax is almost always of Chinese origin, to which chemicals (including oxalic acid) have been added to lighten the colour. There is nothing wrong with Chinese beeswax, the bees accept it in much the same way as other sources of wax, however the level of chemicals is likely to be much higher, and it has a sweeter, more synthetic smell than our premier wax. The chemicals in some varroa treatments and other products are soluble in the beeswax and once there are always there. Thornes do not add any chemicals to their foundation, hence the huge variations in its colour.
Sheets are diagonally wired to strengthen the wax. One continuous length of wire is embedded into the freshly milled wax at an angle to the cells, eliminating any tendency to sag.
B.S. Shallow Wired; Height: 2mm, Width: 127mm, Length: 341mm
B.S. Deep Wired: Height: 2mm, Width: 203mm, Length: 341mm.
14″ x 12″ Wired: Height: 2mm, Width: 292mm, Length: 341mm
