Brown Comb?

[mignolan]

Just did an inspection, and one of my newer hives, which originated in a split, had drawn brown comb during the past week or so. I've never seen them draw comb in anything but white before. What gives? Anyone have experience with that?

Many thanks,


Mig

[Konrad]

That all depends on what nectar source they're foraging in....sugar water makes white...dark honey makes dark comb.

[MJC417]

Same thing happen to me this year, I started a few nucs and it was just one that was making brown comb. I was told it was the nectar source, it would be nice to know what plant it comes from since its the first time I've seen this in my few years of keeping bees. I'm guessing its something that grows in patches because it was the only hive that found it. But like most things I guess with bees, I'm most likely wrong.

[SwedeBee1970]

Likely burr comb. Brood comb is a bit darker too yet not as dark.

[Joseph Clemens]

They build brown comb when they're recycling old wax - old wax is often mixed with propolis which gives it a darker tint. This usually happens when their is comb needing to be built and not enough of a nectar flow to produce lots of new beeswax, any new beeswax used to build comb in these circumstances will sometimes be mixed with old, recycled beeswax.

[MJC417]

No, its not burr comb, recycled or mixed. The brown comb was drawn out on foundationless frames.