[Brooder]

How much cleaning up is necessary, or let the bees do it? Is it OK to reuse frames that are moldy with dead bees in cells? How about capped honey w/ streaks of bee feces? I've fumigated with acetic acid, and scraped much of the
feces from the wooden frames but it's impossible to clean it all.

 

[drlonzo]

Interesting. It would seem the way you speak of your dead outs that they most likely had a very bad case of dissentary or nosema . If you had them tested and it was dissentary, no big deal, let the bees clean up what is left to clean. Just get the bulk of the dead bees out of the hive and don't worry too much about the ones in cells. However, if you didn't test and or know it was nosema, then myself I wouldn't even think about reusing the frames as it could spread the spores onto the next colony. I myself think before I'd go much further post a request to M. Bush for advice on it or read up on his website about this.

 

[burns375]

Interesting. It would seem the way you speak of your dead outs that they most likely had a very bad case of dissentary or nosema . If you had them tested and it was dissentary, no big deal, let the bees clean up what is left to clean. Just get the bulk of the dead bees out of the hive and don't worry too much about the ones in cells. However, if you didn't test and or know it was nosema, then myself I wouldn't even think about reusing the frames as it could spread the spores onto the next colony. I myself think before I'd go much further post a request to M. Bush for advice on it or read up on his website about this.

I've reused moldy frames with dead bees no problem. I blow them out of old brood comb with a air nozzle once temps are above freezing. As far as fecal staining, never experienced that since we usually don't have extended periods of cold in Kentucky.

 

[Brooder]

Interesting. It would seem the way you speak of your dead outs that they most likely had a very bad case of dissentary or nosema . If you had them tested and it was dissentary, no big deal, let the bees clean up what is left to clean. Just get the bulk of the dead bees out of the hive and don't worry too much about the ones in cells. However, if you didn't test and or know it was nosema, then myself I wouldn't even think about reusing the frames as it could spread the spores onto the next colony. I myself think before I'd go much further post a request to M. Bush for advice on it or read up on his website about this.

So, it's possible to have nosema symptoms but it's not necessarily nosema? Could be just plain old dysentary instead?