# Newbie - burn? Freeze?



## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

I worked on cleaning everything today. I didnt have the goo / roping that comes with AFB. I'm just confused what the white is since I can't find it in any pictures of disease or pests.


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## capitalbeesupply (Jul 28, 2013)

It is hard to see from the size of the image, even when enlarged, but it looks like some cells of pollen that have some mold. Overall the comb appears fine in that I don't see dead larvae of any sort, no capped brood, etc (brood diseases would impact/kill developing larvae and brood and what you would be looking for is dead larvae or pupae). It doesn't look like there is much mite frass from what I can see as the cells look fairly clean....so without more history I doubt that there was a brood disease issue..
Rich
Capital Bee Supply


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## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

What other info can I provide to help? I got this NUC in May 2015. I was concerned in fall since there wasn't much activity but chalked it up to cutting numbers for winter though thought they could have swarmed. 
The first warm day this winter, I just visited and saw very few bees in and out. I didn't open it since I knew we would be back down to freezing wtihin a few days.
About a week ago we had several warm days in a row so I cracked open the hive. Empty. No live bees. A few dead on the bottom inside but nothing that I would think is out of the ordinary. I'll post more pictures shortly


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## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

Here are some more of the brood chamber shots. ETA: honey super too ... oops


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

when was the last time you inspected before winter and what did you see?

take a tweezers and carefully pull some of that capped brood out. inspect it for shriveled wings and stunted abdomens.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

just found your 'bummed and scrambling for a queen' thread. queen failure. your comb should be just fine and will give your new colonies a great head start. if your new bees are coming with a history of being treated for mites don't assume they will survive off treatments. consider learning how to do a sugar roll or better yet an alcohol wash. if the budget allows, consider getting your apiary up to 5 hives, and that way you'll have enough depth to recover easily by splitting in the spring to make up for winter losses. (jmho)


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## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

Yes, I assumed at first my queen was gone but some folks told me it could be just the cutting of numbers to prep for winter. When I visited late winter this year, seeing some activity I assumed there was no way they would be there through the winter without a queen. Guess it was a few stragglers. 

I definitely wished I had started with more than one last year for the reasons you stated. Lesson learned.

I already have enough for two hives with some spare parts so might go ahead and try to beef up for this year.

My major concern was if I was missing something that could affect any new colonies I put with these frames. Looking further, the white I was mostly concerned about may be crystallized honey?


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

PirateShipp said:


> Looking further, the white I was mostly concerned about may be crystallized honey?


perhaps yes, and/or mold on the pollen (beebread). don't let the wax moths find those frames before you get your bees on them. a freezer would be a good place to store them if you can.


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## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

I will definitely throw them in the freezer for a bit.

So just save all of it for a new package / nuc? I was going to try to set some out to possibly entice a swarm.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

PirateShipp said:


> I was going to try to set some out to possibly entice a swarm.


that would be a perfect thing to do right now. use just one frame of brood comb in each trap, and consider spraying it with bt aizawai (certan) to protect it from wax moths.


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## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

I have my nuc box from this past colony I kept to use for a trap and was also going to set up a 10 frame box in our garden.

Tonight while I was cleaning up the boxes / frames from this hive there were bees checking everything out. My husband has also noticed some trying to get in our breezeway (where I keep my equipment) Hoping they're searching for a new home which I would love to provide for them.

How long do you suggest I freeze them? Is there a certain amount of time they need to be out of the freezer before presenting them to a new colony?


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

i like to keep mine in the freezer for a minimum of 3 - 4 nights to make sure any wax moth or hive beetle eggs are killed. if they are empty they will thaw out in an hour or less, if there is honey it takes a little longer.

the bees checking out the boxes could be scout bees from a swarm or just foragers looking for a free meal. if you have bees in the area it's likely you'll pick up a swarm or two. a 10 frame deep is about the perfect size for a trap, and more likely to entice a swarm than a 5 frame box.

good luck!


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

squarepeg said:


> just found your 'bummed and scrambling for a queen' thread. queen failure.


How does a queen failing cause brood death and bees partially chewed out?


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

Looks like some granulated sugar syrup in some cells as far as I can see. Did you feed?


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

jwcarlson said:


> How does a queen failing cause brood death and bees partially chewed out?


brood death?



PirateShipp said:


> (posted 10/29/2016) Went out to renew feed for my hive yesterday and didn't see much activity. Checked inside and no queen or brood.


just a guess jwc, but most likely a late season supercedure resulting in a dwindled population and a poorly mated replacement queen. it wouldn't take very many mites with that few bees to put the final nail in the coffin, but in my view the primary cause was the colony going queenless at a most unfortunate time.

waiting to hear what pirateshipp finds when she pulls those unemerged bees. also pirateshipp, do you know how to identify mite frass in the brood cells?


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## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

I did feed when I first placed the nuc in Spring and also leading into Fall.

I never replaced the queen in fall. I never saw my queen when I first placed them in their box. My checks throughout the summer, I saw brood so I wasn't overly concerned just thought she was good at hiding.

My last checks in fall, less brood then finally no brood in Oct. With advice from the previous thread, I decided to wait it out until now since there really wasn't a lot I could do being so close to winter. Worse case, I start over. Best case, I have an extra hive this spring.I went into winter assuming they would need to be replaced come this spring. I just don't want to reuse this equipment if it needs to be destroyed. Starting a new healthy colony is my main concern.

I'm not 100% how to identify mite frass. I've looked in books and googled but have never seen with my own eyes. I have a feeling a lot of these things will be something you'll have to witness yourself. I really need to find some local folks with experience who don't mind a million questions lol


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