# thick white mold(?) covering pollen w pics



## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

I just inspected a hive because it wasn't going through the syrup water as quickly as my other hives.
It has been 2 weeks since I was last in the hive when treating with apiguard. It was one of my strongest and while I didn't see the queen she was very prominent in the hive. 

The hive is made up of 1 deep and 2 mediums on top, 8 frame. The top medium had very little stores of honey or syrup, and a little pollen.

The middle medium had heavy stores of pollen, some brood but not much. As I was going through the frames I noticed a few combs of pollen that had white spots on them, not symmetrical. There was a bit more brood, but not anything close to my other hives of similar age etc. Some of the combs where not completely capped. Some of these were going into the pupa stage, and others were more mature. I found only 2 that had emerged and died in the comb. My 8th frame, facing the inner box was completely covered in the white moldy looking substance. It appears to be all pollen, but I could be wrong. The queen was also spotted in this box.

The bottom deep had a bit of everything, brood, pollen, honey and/or syrup, but no bits of white anything. The bottom board was clear of any dead bees and the front has seen a decline in dead bees in the last week or so.
I poked a few of the cells that are photographed, they all seem to be dryish like pollen. This is my first year and I have not seen this before.
Please take a look at the photos and let me know what you see.
Thanks in advance



















I made the photos smaller for posting, if a larger format would be helpful I can link them to flickr.


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

Please help with this! I am unsure if I need to quarantine the hive or not.
Thanks,


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## mcdermottm (Apr 27, 2010)

the files don't open. invalid attachment


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

Thanks for letting me know. The photos show on this thread when I look at it.
I will try again, but here is the url for my flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157627866028430/


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Fungi is part of the process of making bee bread. But I doubt it's mold. You often get white because pollen is mixed with nectar to ferment it and the sugar often crystallizes as the bee bread dries out. That is usually the cause of white on the bee bread.

There is no reason whatsoever to quarantine a hive because of mold, if it is mold. Can't see the pictures yet...


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Guessing you didn't dust em with powdered sugar? The flicker works. I do not have anything wise to say, but the pics are showing and do enlarge enough to get a good look.

Gypsi


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

thanks gypsi and michael.
I had heard that the mixture can ferment. I think I was surprised to see the contents of the cells expanded to beyond the cell walls. 
Even if the fermented bread is not a problem I still have a very week hive with little to no larva. I will try to get a photo of the brood in the morning, and will look for other tell tale signs of problems.
Is there anything in my description of the frames with incomplete capped cells that I need to be looking for?


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Is that brood or pollen? I can't quite make it out... the white looks to me like signs of a leaking top and not enough bee coverage to clean it up, but the brood/pollen hanging out of the cells is alarming... you be my eyes and I will try to help. Lol.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Kind of looks like moldy drone brood... it's definitely mold. A strong hive will clean things up, but why did it mold? You may have ventilation problems...


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

That's what I was thinking... I just looked at the pic again on my laptop and its definitely mold and it appears to be forming on what looks like water trails running all the way down the frame... either you have a leaking top or like Michael suggested, a condensation issue from poor ventilation... I am assuming that its a pollen frame and maybe the frame was shaken or bumped to cause the pollen to protrude like that, or the bees are cleaning it out... either way, Michael is right, fix the moisture/leak issue and a strong hive will clean it the frame right up...


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

I think it is all pollen, but will check it again today. I will check on the ventilation / water trails. That may be why it is only 1 frame, and the outside frame as well. The frames directly above this have no issue - other than they are empty.
Should I remove the frame from the hive?


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## Dragonfly130 (Dec 12, 2008)

Ventilation is probably an issue as previously stated. *But where's the bee's?* You would not have a problem like that in a populous colony. I think the mold problem is secondary to another like a failing queen, (PMS)bad mite issues or some other unknown cause. Grim outlook for them over winter. Mold is usually associated with low bee number's in the spring. Normally seen in deadout's.


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

Dragonfly,
The bee population has dropped. I don't know if the mold is cause or affect. I will get some photos in the morning of the other cells and maybe get a bit of help here. My


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