# i know its bad but what is it?



## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

Looks like mold in the second photo, especially on the comb to the right of the blobs. The blobs could be molded pollen. My guess on it.


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## tech.35058 (Jul 29, 2013)

What do your other hives look like?
What kind of brood is it? ( drone, worker? )
I have one hive which just had a little drone brood.
Queen still present. If she is still there next time I visit that yard, she will be swarm bait.
I hope your hive is better than that one of mine, and hopefully not the only one.
Good luck ! CE


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## Paulbunyan (Feb 2, 2016)

i didnt think the blobs were mold because they looked to be connected by some sort of web like string. there was a fair amount of mold on the frame but i thought the blobs were different. my other two hives arent in the same location. but they are doing great. strong population plenty of remaining honey. the few brood that was there was all was all worker. what do you mean by swarm bait? 
thank you
Robert


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## NeilV (Nov 18, 2006)

Looks like bee feces on the top of the frame, which suggests either dysentery or Nosema, probably Nosema Apis. The other shows comb with mold, which happens when hives die out or can't maintain their space and/or you have excess moisture in the hive. 

It is, however, hard to say anything close to definite with those two pictures. What does the hive look like as a whole? Is there any brood? What does it look like? Did you do anything to treat for mites or monitor the mite numbers? How many frames of brood and bees do you have?


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## Paulbunyan (Feb 2, 2016)

i took this one after 3/4 through however these were the only bees left in the hive. as for brood it was low double digits. i didnt see any larvae. i didnt do anything for mites that was my plan as soon as the winter was over. this hive after i puchased it was moved onto my property far out of town. and i dont know of another hive anywhere within 8 miles. the hive was one brood box and one super on top. the top had a large amount of dead bees and mold. i removed the super and closed the brood box off and picked through the frames on the bottom and 9 of them didnt seem to have but a tiny amount of mold on them.


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## whiskers (Aug 28, 2011)

When one disposes of a queen, one can place her in a container of grain alcohol. The alcohol will extract the essence of the queen which can then be used to bait swarm traps.
Bill


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Paulbunyan said:


> i didnt think the blobs were mold because they looked to be connected by some sort of web like string.


Most likely wax moth webbing. Looking at the bottom board, back hive body, & frames..,at some point there was a moisture issue.


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## Paulbunyan (Feb 2, 2016)

i did have a moisture problem im next to a rainforest. i found a small amount of mold on top of one frame on the super. as soon as i found that i built a shed surrounding the hive in hopes it would solve the issue. thank you all for the information that is exactly what i joined the forum for. how do i prevent wax moths in the future?


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

The few remaining bees are extremely swollen. They have a nosemae issue as well as other digestive system issues protozoa and amoebas. The frames have feces on them because of these digestive system issues. Wax moth are not the problem, they are a secondary issue because the colony is decimated.

We see this all the time. We are a couple hours north of you.

Jean-Marc


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## Scpossum (May 4, 2014)

It looks like wax moth damage. You can spray with BT. It only kills the wax moth larvae. Works quick too. One spray is good for a long time. You can spray it directly on the frames with the bees on it when it is warm. Organic, too (I think that group considers it organic). I used it last year on tomatoes also when I had worm damage. 

Spray your comb when you take it off the hive also. It will protect the comb in the off season.

I also agree with the post above. A strong colony can normally defend against this.


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## NeilV (Nov 18, 2006)

It does not look like wax moth damage to me. It's too white, and it's in a blob, and there are no tunnels. It just looks like mold growing where some pollen probably was. 

However, the more important points are: (1) if that's all the bees you have left, this hive's basically dead already; and (2) it did not die from mold or wax moths (that's happened because it's dead).

You need to salvage the comb and start over. The bee poop in the hive suggests a Nosema infection may have been the cause. Another cause may be varroa and related viruses. The lack of dead bees in the hive suggests that the bee population was sick (from Nosema and/or viruses) and the sick bees left.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

All this speculation is all well and good however at this point what it is moot. There are inadequate numbers of bees to have any real chance of recovery. What bees are their are in poor condition. As stated by others wax moths are not the problem but a symptom that one exists, usually low numbers or poor bee health. Nosema Apis spores are usually present in the hive, healthy bees can as a rule deal with them, as a result it only becomes a problem when bees are stressed due to other factors. At this point Neil offered the best advice. Clean the equipment up spritz frames with Bacillus Thuringensis, Aizwai (BT) to prevent further damage, and store until you are ready to start a new hive, As stated that sickly queen could be a lure for the next residents of the hive. 
Good luck keep plugging away.


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## Paulbunyan (Feb 2, 2016)

Thank you all for the information. i will try and get everything cleaned up and possibly start another hive this summer. definately depressing. how would you guys recommend cleaning up the frames without loosing all the honey?


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## Coach62 (Mar 26, 2016)

If you want to know if it's mold and what kind it is, take a piece of clear tape, not the frosted stuff. Touch it to the white stuff, then affix the tape to the inside of a sandwich Baggie, seal it off. Then contact me, I can direct you to one of the labs I use for mold samples. It is not expensive if you do it yourself.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Paulbunyan said:


> i didnt do anything for mites that was my plan as soon as the winter was over.


Probably one of the factors. If you fail to address the issue of mites before your bees make their winter brood, you go into winter with a bunch of sickly bees. Spring is too late....by far.


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