cappings under hive

[Cuckmere couple]

are these from bees uncapping honey or something else?

2 swarms united into a national and suddenly a lot of bits of wax underneath, they dont have much in way of stores to uncap so wondered?

 

[birdsandbees]

could it be wax scales dropped through the OMF during comb building I wonder.

 

[Popparand]

Debris

Pale cappngs on floor = opened stores.
Darker cappings on floor = emerging brood.

i always check the floor in between and before opening the hive. You can tell a lot from what you find there. The bees dont mnd.

 

[Cuckmere couple]

thanks both....i'd heard you can learn a lot, hence trying to understand more what i find....so some can be scales from building wax?

 

[Ian123]

scales from wax building as above.......

 

[Beefriendly]

Scales from wax builders are very small, pearl shaped and almost transparent. You really have to look the other mass of cappings debris to find them.

 

[Ian123]

Given he said swarms I thinking scales. Let’s have a pic and we can see

 

[Cuckmere couple]

heres the pic

 

[JWF]

heres the pic

That looks like a combination of all three to me (brood cappings, stores cappings and wax scales) - the wax scales are the white flecks.

 

[Ian123]

yes looks like general hive debris to me.......what bits had you identified as cappings specificaly

 

[Cuckmere couple]

just interested to learn what to read from under the hive...have heard people look when not opening hive and telling if stores are being accessed or brood hatching etc