Frame Guide › Disease
American Foulbrood Warning Signs: what it looks like on the frame
Spotty brood, sunken greasy cappings with pinholes, and an odd smell.
A shotgun pattern with sunken, greasy, perforated cappings and an off odor is a red flag for a serious brood disease like American foulbrood. This is the one you never wave off.
Rope-test and contact your state apiary inspector
In Pennsylvania, suspected AFB means a rope test and a call to the state apiarist — it's reportable and extremely contagious. Confirm before doing anything that could spread spores to your other hives or the neighbors'.
Easy to mistake for
- Healthy Brood PatternJune · a strong colony, bees calm and covering the comb.
- Honey-Bound Brood NestStrong flow on. Bees crowding, and the queen seems to have nowhere to go.
- Swarm CellsEarly May · booming population, bees boiling out the front.
Could you spot this with the lid off?
Read the Frame deals you 8 random frames. Say what you see, say what you'd do, and find out why. It's free and runs on your phone.
Drill disease → Mixed round (all 32 frames) →More disease
- ChalkbroodCool, wet spring. You spot chalky white bits on the landing board.
- European FoulbroodMay · built up fast, then stalled. A faint sour smell.
- SacbroodSpring · a handful of odd larvae scattered in otherwise decent brood.
- Chilled BroodYou went through this hive on a windy 48°F day and took your time.
- DysenteryLate February · brown streaks on the top bars and down the comb.
- Foulbrood ScaleA colony that dwindled and died last fall. You tilt a frame toward the light.
These frames are drawn to teach the pattern, and real frames vary. If you suspect foulbrood or a pesticide kill, contact your state apiarist. In Pennsylvania that's the PA Department of Agriculture apiary program. Samples to the USDA Beltsville Bee Lab are free. From The Alleman Apiary in Middletown, PA.