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is this chalk brood?

2904 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Jon B
I went out to take a look at the hives today and was surprised to find this frame.

Bee Honeybee Beehive Pattern Membrane-winged insect


will it clear itself up or what do I need to do?
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Also the rain here has been ridiculous, close to 10" in the month of June. At first this area looked good with a lot of sweet clover, but now I wonder if it is and should I move my hives. The bees seemed busy at first, but now I watch the hives and very little pollen carried in and no honey being produced. The main hive body was very active Bee Honeybee Beehive Insect Apiary
Honeycomb Bee Insect Honeybee Beehive
Bee Honeybee Insect Beehive Membrane-winged insect

with honey and brood so I put on another deep and it looks like they're running out of food and using up their surplus. Should I be feeding them, syrup doesn't last a day when it's 85 plus degrees and humid. Any ideas.
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Doesn't appear to be chaulk brood looks like they starved
not sure how they would be starving with honey and nectar in the hive
Do you see any white chalky larva mummies on you landing board? I had chalk brood a few weeks ago.
wild-b, Can't see real well, are those bees heads down in with butts sticking out, or are those white and blackish
larvae in that first frame? Your other frames look just fine, could be that one picked up mold or fungi. Top and bottom
venting is very important for a healthy hive and full sun always solves problems. If it is only one fr they should clean it up.
yes they are bee butts sticking out. That might have been a frame that I put in awhile back from last year or so that I had bought from a keeper. I don't remember it looking like that though with the silver coloring to it, wondering if it is due to humidity. The hive is in full sun most of the day until late afternoon or evening. Not sure how to vent it.
looks like the dead bees have picked up a mold or other fungus. that is not chalk brood, chalkbrood effects the larve just after capping, not adult bees like in those photos.
If your bees arent putting away stores, you may want to feed. Put a quart on them, and see what happens. If they are hungry, they will take the syrup down, if not, they wont.
Couldn't "not eating during times of plenty" be a sign of nosema infection? If they don't take straight syrup, maybe try HBH or another feeding stimulant.
wild-b, Yes, that being a frame from last year makes sense. They just haven't moved on to it, to clean it up yet.
With the higher humidity levels now, in NE, it will show as white. As far as venting goes, I use a lot of slatted
racks, but also have normal 3/8 or 3/4" bottom entrances. A top entrance wouldn't hurt tho in NE. Some drill a
hole in the top box, use an inch shim, inner cover, or wood shim sticks to prop up the cover.
Looks a little like EFB. Brood pattern from the second picture looks spotty-but not too bad. What do your other brood frames look like, any open brood, got picture?
The foundationless is hard to see in the picture, whats in it? A new foundationless frame from a healthy hive during a flow should be half full with nectar or have eggs and brood. The frame itself tells me they were going strong at one time, now it's empty?

>no honey being produced
Can also be a sign of EFB

>not sure how they would be starving with honey and nectar in the hive
They’re not starving

>That might have been a frame that I put in awhile back from last year or so that I had bought from a keeper.
It looks like an old frame not cleaned out that grew mold.

>maybe try HBH or another feeding stimulant.
DONT FEED THEM HBH! That’s the worst thing you can do right now, if you have a brood disease the HBH will make your bees defenseless by killing the bee's probiotics.

If you want a feeding stimulant use vinegar ("acedic acid is very effective against EFB in the lab"). It could cause robbing if your hive is weakened, (any feeding stimulant can cause robbing).
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Picture of chalkbrood here. Click on the thumbnail for the bigger picture.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beespests.htm#chalkbrood
It doesn't look like chalk brood. I appears to be some worker bees that died in the cells and began to mold.
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