Opened hive today to find Larvae

[tucker0104]

So I have a large brood box with 2 medium super almost full of honey. I always check the two supers when I take the top off but have always been afraid to take apart the brood box since I am a new beekeeper. I finally took apart the brood box today and found a bunch of large sells that when cracked open were white puss. I later learned it was larvae coming out of them and the bees were taking the larvae out of the hive. The larvae was all white with a black head. What is this larvae? How do I get rid of it? Thanks for the help in advance.

[dixiebooks]

You likely don't need to get rid of it if the bees are already doing that. What kind of larvae are they? Are they bee larvae or wax moth or SHB or....?

Are you seeing any evidence of SHB or moths?

-james

[tucker0104]

I had some evidence of SHB last year but put traps out and haven't really seen any since. They are bigger larvae. The cell that they are in is definitely protruded out from the rest of them. How can I tell if it is SHB or moth?

[dixiebooks]

If these are moths, you should see the telltale tunnels of silk they leave behind them as they burrow through the comb. If these are SHB larvae, the comb will be...well, nasty with slime. If you don't have any of this, it may be that the bees are hauling out their own larvae for whatever reason. Perhaps you have hygienic bees. If so, it's a good thing. Do you have pics of the comb in question? -james

[wadehump]

sounds like drone brood

[billk]

Pictures of SHB larvae doing some damage to my observation hive




larvae collected at the bottom of hive




picture of damaged comb after frame had been frozen

[Littlestinger]

Sounds like drone brood, except for the black head part. If the cells are bigger than normal bee cells, it cant be SHB or wax moth larvae, those are smaller.