Entombed Pollen

[Erichalfbee]

A few articles. I can't find anything more recent.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19361513/#:~:text=Here we describe a new,is brick red in color.

https://www.honeybeesuite.com/what-is-entombed-pollen/
Thanks for these. I must say I’d never heard of this.
https://beeinformed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022_BIP-Inspection-Cheatsheets-diseases.pdf

 

[oxnatbees]

Do you see the bee bread cells that have been covered by a thin layer of propolis? We had the entombed bee bread in those cells tested...full of agricultural and industrial chemicals. IMO, the bees are trying to isolate that contaminated bee bread from the colony.

Do you mean the grey cells?

My understanding is (please correct me if I'm wrong, I respect your vast experience) that bee bread is sealed with a layer of honey - so it glistens. One also often sees dull cells, which are pollen not yet processed into bee bread, which tends to fall out as a powder if the frame is tapped. I am not sure what the grey cells in your photo are, but grey seems an odd colour for propolis. I am keen to learn what an entombed bee bread cell looks like.

This contamination / capping finding is fascinating, thank you for sharing.

 

[Michael Palmer]

Do you mean the grey cells?

My understanding is (please correct me if I'm wrong, I respect your vast experience) that bee bread is sealed with a layer of honey - so it glistens. One also often sees dull cells, which are pollen not yet processed into bee bread, which tends to fall out as a powder if the frame is tapped. I am not sure what the grey cells in your photo are, but grey seems an odd colour for propolis. I am keen to learn what an entombed bee bread cell looks like.

This contamination / capping finding is fascinating, thank you for sharing.

What you're seeing as gray is really a brown propolis layer. Very thin. The light reflecting off the surface makes it look gray.
Bee bread is often shiny on the surface. I don't know why.
Pollen falling from the comb as powder? Dust or pellets? I can shake large amounts of fine dust from pollen clogged combs taken out of storage.
I think the dust is caused by pollen mites working on old bee bread. Do you all have pollen mites in the UK?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think the dust is caused by pollen mites working on old bee bread. Do you all have pollen mites in the UK?

Yes. I store my super frames wet after extraction which is an ideal environment for the mites to thrive. In spring a sharp tap of the frame sends any pollen out in a cloud of dust

 

[oxnatbees]

What you're seeing as gray is really a brown propolis layer. Very thin. The light reflecting off the surface makes it look gray.
Bee bread is often shiny on the surface. I don't know why.
Pollen falling from the comb as powder? Dust or pellets? I can shake large amounts of fine dust from pollen clogged combs taken out of storage.
I think the dust is caused by pollen mites working on old bee bread. Do you all have pollen mites in the UK?

Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, we have pollen mites - I think there are various species worldwide - but they're so small you don't usually see them unless you think to look.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Do you all have pollen mites in the UK

yes. I store my super wet over the winter in stacks of ten, when I come to take down the stacks in the spring I find the comb clean and a pile of pollen dust in the bottommost super of the stack