# White mouldy substance covering pollen filled cells



## jrbbees (Apr 4, 2010)

May need more ventilation in your hive.


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## stoffel64 (Sep 23, 2010)

Hi,

I have seen something like that, too. I actually don't have bees yet but I have the luck
to help and watch an old beekeeper. The white and yellow stuff, looks like a fungus.
I saw it on pollen filled cells. It looked like that the pollen was covered with a liquid 
(maybe nectar) and on top was this fungus looking stuff. 
I only saw this stuff on frames that did not have bees on it or only a few.
The beekeeper actually dismissed it as a big problem. Maybe the bees will clean it up.
Furthermore I only saw it in weaker hives the stronger hives did not have the problem,
so far I could see.
I am really new to beekeeping and I maybe see problems where no are.

Cheers
Stefan


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Bees can't eat pollen. They can eat bee bread. Bee bread is pollen that has been fermented by several fungi, bacteria and yeast. You may just be seeing things that need to be there.


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## stoffel64 (Sep 23, 2010)

Here we are. I learned something. Thank you.

Cheers
Stefan


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## Pavan (Nov 26, 2010)

Same as that Stefan it is only on the the outer frames and only in the weaker hive.
Thanks to all


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Hmmm.... Just thought I'd expand on that, various microorganisms are used in the breakdown of pollen. Partly while it is in storage, but mostly while it is in the bees digestive tract.

Seeing mould growing on pollen in a comb is not normal and indicates some problem in the hive, the symptom of that problem being the bees not being able to properly care for the pollen. Usually a lack of bees.

Once stored in the hive, various microorganisms find their way into the pollen, however this process is closely regulated by the bees. Lactic acid producing organisms inhabit stored bee pollen which is why pollen from a comb can taste very bitter, compared to fresh pollen. However this acts as a preservative, and if pollen is going into long term storage the bees will sometimes preserve it by putting some honey over it and capping it.

This information has been somewhat misinterpreted over recent years to "prove" various agendas around CCD, chemicals, or whatever. But remember a new swarm moving into a hive is able to collect fresh pollen and use it immediately to feed brood because they have the nessecary organisms in their gut.


Here is a diagram


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## stoffel64 (Sep 23, 2010)

This raises the question: Should you keep these frames in the hive or remove them?
Can the bee fix this problem when the get to it?


Cheers
Stefan


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

"Other fungi, yeasts, bacteria and molds help to produce enzymes vitamins..."


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

_But remember a new swarm moving into a hive is able to collect fresh pollen and use it immediately to feed brood because they have the nessecary organisms in their gut._

In ordinary circumstances, a swarm has to draw out the comb before they can raise brood. Pollen consumption is at a minimum until after the comb is drawn and they begin brood rearing.

If a swarm is put into a hive with existing comb, that comb often already has pollen stored in cells.

How long does it take for the bees to turn pollen into bee bread?

Swarms are turbo charged to draw comb - could swarms also be turbo charged to turn pollen into bee bread?

Do swarms ever take stored pollen with them when they leave the hive? I just read recently about some farming ants that grow a bacteria or fungus that they eat...and when a new queen leaves to start a new colony, she takes a seed piece of the culture with her. Could swarming bees do the same thing by taking some bee bread with them?


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

stoffel64 said:


> This raises the question: Should you keep these frames in the hive or remove them?
> Can the bee fix this problem when the get to it?
> Cheers
> Stefan


A healthy hive can clean it up, but old mouldy pollen can go rock hard and be quite a chore for the bees to remove. 
Basically if there are plenty of bees on it they can clean it, but if the hive is weak they may avoid that comb.

If there's a lot of it you can tell if they are cleaning it, there will be little hard lumps of it on the bottom board.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Oldtimer said:


> A healthy hive can clean it up, but old mouldy pollen can go rock hard and be quite a chore for the bees to remove.
> Basically if there are plenty of bees on it they can clean it, but if the hive is weak they may avoid that comb.
> 
> If there's a lot of it you can tell if they are cleaning it, there will be little hard lumps of it on the bottom board.


The may also seal off some areas with heavy coats of wax. We have seen this a few times. If it seams to hard, you can try warm water from a sink sprayer. Wife may not like it, but it works well. :lookout:

Saw a lot of this one year when we had a guy in the wood shop building shabby tops (and again when my oldest brother came to work for us..yikes.. terrible stacking skills... lol.)... leaking tops, rain running in twisted supers = molded pollen... little leaks are no big deal, but on hives that you pull the tops so much that they dont have time to seal them up, and the gap is big enough for bees to get through, it becomes a problem. Our humidity here is ALWAYS high... usually in the 90%s... It rains ALL winter and the hilly, tree covered terrain cuts the wind, so molds of ALL kinds grow here quite well...

The bees can handle whatever happens in the hive, so long as they are healthy. They have perfect math... if there are not enough of them (or if they are needed else where), they will just leave those frames... not to say that they will not come back to them when their numbers are higher... Denpending on your season, I would simply add some capped brood from another hive to help them out a bit...2 frames should leave you with a spotless hive before long. ;-)

If that isnt possible, just move those frames to the upper brood box/far sides. When the bees build up, they will clean them up for you.


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## fafrd (Aug 22, 2009)

I've seen the same thing (mold on pollen) from a small nuc I am overwintering that does not have many bees and had abandoned that outermost frame which is against the shaded and moist side of the hive.

I removed this frame and replaced it with an empty frame. The moldy frame is HSC (drawn plastic) and so in theory can be cleaned. Would appreciate advice on whether I should clean this frame or just freeze it until later in the year and let the bees clean it.

Will also need to figure out if there is anything I can do about the damp side of my hive. Right now I have a medium queen castle oriented so one side gets maximum sun and the far side (damp side) gets no sun. The sunny side and central compartments are booming and the damp side colony is holding its own but just barely. I either need to rotate the queen castle 90 degrees, so that all three nucs get a small amount of sun but only on the front face, or I need to switch the position of the two outer nucs, so that the strong/sunny nuc is moved to the damp side and the weak/damp nuc is moved to the sunniest side until the spring.

Any advice on which of these two actions would be better would be appreciated.

-fafrd


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## bfriendly (Jun 14, 2009)

I am also curious about "which of the two options" you choose when dealing with moldy pollen frames.

Specifically affects me regards to cleaning up deadouts... for putting new bees (splits) onto this comb in the spring.

sometimes if it is really bad I will scrape the worst part out or toss the frame, but most times especially if it is only a small bit or the comb is otherwise not too old/bad, I usually just let the new bees clean it up - and they do, generally quickly.

Of course you have to pay attention to other things with deadouts, like try to figure out why they died in the first place, don't need to open up a whole new can of worms...but.. just wanted to throw this out there, because this is the scenario where I see the moldy pollen cells. Bottom box of deadout due to starvation or small cluster.

ps. I have been spraying down deadout comb with bleach, more to make me feel good about doing SOMETHING than anything else, per following some old discussions on Bee-L, I think Bob Harrison was doing this.


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