Bad smell associated with Nosema ? Am I in a denial ?
Bad smell associated with Nosema ? Am I in a denial ? AFB ?? Couple weeks ago I sniffed the wet droppings outside the hive and they smelled sourish. Now I am losing this hive (the 2nd one) and I wonder what caused it - I opened it up, there is still a small cluster of bees trying to pull it through, full of dead bees (it was a nice strong hive) , smells not pleasant, very soiled frames with droppings inside. Since there were some perforated brood cells, I did a rope test on a capped brood - no ropes. Anyway, would the hive smell funky if there are lots of dead bees and nosema/dysentery is the cause ? Does the bad smell only associates with AFB ? This is my 2nd winter, so my experience is minimal. The other 2 hives bringing in pollen and look very clean inside, I hope they don't pick up anything funky from the neighbors.
The both hives that I've lost/losing were started on a home made brand new equipment, foundationless frames or the new frames - what are the chances for the AFB ?
I searched the forum and did not find any similar posts, looks like if it smells it has to be AFB...
???
I'll just send out samples for the test...
Bad smell associated with Nosema ? Am I in a denial ? AFB ?? Couple weeks ago I sniffed the wet droppings outside the hive and they smelled sourish. Now I am losing this hive (the 2nd one) and I wonder what caused it - I opened it up, there is still a small cluster of bees trying to pull it through, full of dead bees (it was a nice strong hive) , smells not pleasant, very soiled frames with droppings inside. Since there were some perforated brood cells, I did a rope test on a capped brood - no ropes. Anyway, would the hive smell funky if there are lots of dead bees and nosema/dysentery is the cause ? Does the bad smell only associates with AFB ? This is my 2nd winter, so my experience is minimal. The other 2 hives bringing in pollen and look very clean inside, I hope they don't pick up anything funky from the neighbors.
The both hives that I've lost/losing were started on a home made brand new equipment, foundationless frames or the new frames - what are the chances for the AFB ?
I searched the forum and did not find any similar posts, looks like if it smells it has to be AFB...
I'll just send out samples for the test...