Some of you may remember from last summer when I posted about my bees swarming. After that I had some "queen issues". Meaning for a while I had at least two queens in my hive and when fall came I wasn't sure if I had any.
Now that the weather here has finally gotten above 50 I opened my hive only to find a dozen or so live bees with tons of drone cells. This wasn't a surprise because I already thought I may of had laying workers last fall.
But what did surprise me was to find mold growing on some of my frames. I'm planning to order a new package of bees this year but am not sure what to do with the moldy frames. Will the bees just remove the mold or do I have to buy completely new frames to replace the ones with mold growing on it?
The bees will clean it up.
Quote from: Bennettoid on March 31, 2008, 03:45:19 PM
The bees will clean it up.
Very sanitary critters. I wish we could train them to clean operating rooms--no more staph.
k, thanks guys!
Now I just need to call the bee supply store and ask them when they're getting their packages in.
Mold is common in beehives, on comb, etc. It only takes a little moisture and above freezing temps. I let them worry about it. After all, those bees need something to do in the early spring before the pollen comes out :-x
Rick
This same thing happened to a friend of mine, last weekend.
One thing I did notice is about half the comb wax, was as hard as a rock. We got rid of that stuff, I couldn't imagine that the bees would have been able to deal with it.
I blame the entrance reducers, and the inner cover he had without a vent hole on the side.
......and who knows, they're insects--not humans.....is it within the realm of possibility that they might even eat some of it?
they seem to prefer dirty stagnant water over fresh.