one of my hives has what looks like mud hanging from the frames...i know it's from the girls but what is it? i'm sure it's not good...:(
Like dry mud? Sticky mud? Maybe a mud dauber moved into a failing hive? Pollen? Is it in the cells or hanging down. If it's wet and in the cells, it's pollen.
it's like wet mud and hanging off the bottom of the frames...not pollen that's for sure...and a dark color like mud.
picture?
Maybe something some wax moths left behind?
if there are small ammounts, probably propolis, but the mud comparison makes me wonder....
Mash it :-D
Any water getting in there? or heaps of condensation?
Propolis is often quite dark, especially when old. I've had a hive that actually built a partial curtain of it across the bottom entrance from the frames to the bottom board. I didn't think it looked like mud, though it could look wet.
Rick
i will take a pic of it this weekend when we open the hive again....i thought it was propolis but there is so much of it.
I had a hive that the bottom entrance was nearly completely sealed up by propolis. The original entrance was the width of a ten frame deep and 3/4 inchs wide. The bees closed it to a narrow slit of 1/4 inch wide and a couple of inches long. It was not mud color, more of a dark mustard.
If an entrance reducer isn't used they will seal the entrance most of the way in winter. Mine did.
doak