Signs of nosema?

[tjc1]

Aarrgghh... I hope not, but... Two packages this year were both going gangbusters, but one of them has seemed to falter lately, with seemingly fewer bees and less activity. Yesterday I pushed the bottom boards forward a bit to create some airflow underneath, and today I noticed that this hive, unlike the other, has lots of spots of feces on it. Any thoughts? I'm a bit paranoid since of the three hives I lost last year, two came back from testing showing positive for nosema. (I did fumigate the equipment with acetic acid before reusing it...).

EDIT: both boards were clean when first exposed - it was after it had been out for a day that the exposed part of the board in front of this hive (and not the other one) had all the feces spots on it, so obviously from exiting/entering bees that day.

[Rurification]

I had a hive last year that did this when their jar of sugar water fermented and I hadn't noticed.   As soon as I changed the feed, the runs cleared up.   

[rober]

you can send bees to the usda lab in Beltsville md & they'll check for nosema, tracheal, & varrora mites  free of charge. check the website for guidelines.
http://ars.usda.gov/services/docs.htm?docid=7472

[tjc1]

Thanks, Rober - I sent them samples from my hives this winter, and didn't know if there were limitations to how often you could send samples, of if they only  tested for failed hives..