[margot]

In May, I made a split with several frames of brood and a purchased queen. While there is fresh brood and larvae in the hive, I'm wondering if some of the other darker frames contain dead brood, since the frames have looked the same for several weeks-although I see no other signs of disease. Will bees uncap and clean the dead cells? (I don't want to kill any larvae unecessarily if they're stilll viable.) Also, the cappings on the newest brood are a very light yellow, a real contrast to the dark brown of the older cappings.

 

[Dwight]

The brood in that darker comb is not dead. the cappings take on the color of the comb which gets darker with age. The color is not detrimental to the brood, honey or pollen.
It is a good I dea to replace the comb every few years but that new white comb will be rather dark by the end of it's second season.

 

[JohnK and Sheri]

Bees will clean out any dead brood. If they are very small, it might take them a while. Are you sure it isn't pollen or honey?
Sheri

 

[Jeff McGuire]

I made that mistake myself the first time seeing the pollen they were storing. I thought I had a problem untill I worked with a friend inspecting his hives he pointed out all the pollen his bees were packing away. It looks a lot like very dark cappings.