Frame Guide › Management
Moldy Comb: what it looks like on the frame
Spring · frames from a hive that died in January, left in the damp box since.
Fuzzy grey-green growth on the stored pollen and a few cell walls, in comb with no brood in it at all. Chalkbrood is hard white-grey mummified larvae in the brood cells of a living colony. This is just damp.
Work out why they died, then let a strong colony clean it
Mouldy comb is fine for bees — a strong colony cleans it up in days, and drawn comb is worth a lot. The real job comes first: find out what killed the colony. Check for mite droppings in the cells, bees head-first in cells, and foulbrood scale, because the one thing you don't want is to hand a disease to your good hive.
Easy to mistake for
- ChalkbroodCool, wet spring. You spot chalky white bits on the landing board.
- Foulbrood ScaleA colony that dwindled and died last fall. You tilt a frame toward the light.
- Wax Moth DamageThe outside frames of a colony that's been dwindling for a month.
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 management → Mixed round (all 32 frames) →More management
- Honey-Bound Brood NestStrong flow on. Bees crowding, and the queen seems to have nowhere to go.
- Starved ColonyLate March · they were flying in December. Now, silence.
- Normal Drone CombMay · the bottom edge of a frame from a strong, healthy hive.
- Pollen-Bound Brood NestA heavy pollen flow on, and a small colony that isn't growing.
- New Colony Drawing CombTwo weeks after you installed a package on fresh foundation.
- Uncapped Honey SuperLate June · a super frame, heavy in your hand. You're thinking about pulling honey.
- Fall Brood NestEarly October · a strong colony, the goldenrod flow just ended.
These frames are drawn to teach the pattern, and real frames vary. From The Alleman Apiary in Middletown, PA.