Could just be lots of bee bread being made -- smells of fresh bread, that's good. Could also be lots of goldenrod pollen, which has a distinctive odor, more like dirty socks.

However, a rotten fermenting odor more like rotting grapes, I'd pop the lid and make sure I didn't have a SHB infestation, and so so immediately. The bees will abscond if you don't fix the problem at once, it happened to me this summer and I lost two hives. If you do have them, shake the bees into a clean hive with as much drawn comb as you have plus foundation, and then leave the frames from the old hive out in the open over something solid for an hour or so. All the larvae will crawl off the framed and drop to the ground looking for a dark place, the birds will eat them all up, and your frames will be fairly clean.

Once the larvae have crawled off, freeze all the frames and then give them back to the bees after rinsing any fermented honey off. You will lose any brood (but the beetle larvae have probably killed most of it anyway) and some honey, but the bees will use any that is still capped.

Most likely it's just a lot of pollen fermenting, but I'd check pronto myself after my losses this summer.

Peter

 

I have noticed this sort of smell every fall. Not sure why, but bees are still fine.

 

It is definitely more of a bread smell. I do have SHB in the hive, but I have been trying to keep the bees a little cramped and I have a trap in each box. I was planning on opening the hive this weekend, given it is more bread than grape do you think I'd be OK to wait this long or should I try to go in Thursday (earliest date I can open it)?

 

Do you have Goldenrod and or Asters in your area?
My hives stink and it's from them bringing in Goldenrod.
Are the bees actively coming and going during the day? Do you see pollen coming in?


Glen