Mould.

[juanito]

Greetings ,
I have just inspected our hives after a week of wet weather which is highly unusual in our part of Spain,
two of the hives are just starting to build up but the third one has very little brood and there is mould on one of the combs,
is it anything to worry about ?
Just on my way back to give them a litre of syrup.

 

[Finman]

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Scrabe the mouldy cells off. Bees do the rest.

 

[oliver90owner]

Yes. Colony is likely weak.

Wher is al...al..?

 

[user 6228]

looking for a paper that proves mould on the comb of its self is bad for bees.

 

[Finman]

looking for a paper that proves mould on the comb of its self is bad for bees.

Does that sentence mean that mould is bad for bees?

Actually bees do not mind about mould much. They chew down the moulded comb in spring and build new instead. To save bees work you may do something, and clean the damaged point.

If the comb is so dark, that sunlight does come trough, renew the whole comb.
Mostly dark combs get mold to their lower parts beside the wall.

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[user 6228]

Does that sentence mean that mould is bad for bees?

Actually bees do not mind about mould much. They chew down the moulded comb in spring and build new instead. To save bees work you may do something, and clean the damaged point.

If the comb is so dark, that sunlight does come trough, renew the whole comb.
Mostly dark combs get mold to their lower parts beside the wall.

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or disproves mould is bad for bees or proves its good for bees. I would bet its mostly harmless but thats just guess work based on A.m. lives in mouldy trees. There are alot statements in books without experiments to back them up.

 

[masterBK]

Probably the mould is more dangerous to us (if inhaled) than to the bees especially if it is an Aspergillus species (farmers lung = Aspergillosis)

 

[Finman]

There are alot statements in books without experiments to back them up.

At the beginning of my beekeeping I saw what bees do to mouldy combs. I have not seen what books say.

Every spring I had some mouldy combs. Then I started to arrange frames so before winter feeding, that do not put pollen frames or dark combs agaist the side wall. White new combs does not take mold

Next advice was from professional: Put the wintering bees into smaller space. The interior is warmer and dryer.


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[Finman]

or disproves mould is bad for bees or proves its good for bees. up.

At least mould is not good for combs. Bees must rebuild those parts, but it is not end of the world.

What is end of the world is Bailey comb exhange. It is really worse than mold.

But in super combs I have seen, that if the cells are mouldy, and flow is good, bees do not have time to clean the cells and they fill the mouldy cells with honey.
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[BrianO]

Probably the mould is more dangerous to us (if inhaled) than to the bees especially if it is an Aspergillus species (farmers lung = Aspergillosis)

Thats interesting, wonder if any of the bigger setups factor this in using PPE especially perhaps those using Polyhives ??

One thing opening and going through 2 / 3 Hives, another going through 50 plus

Anyone know. ?

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Probably the mould is more dangerous to us (if inhaled) than to the bees especially if it is an Aspergillus species (farmers lung = Aspergillosis)

As I understand it the biggest factor in "catching" farmers lung is shaking up mouldy hay, creating spore carrying dust which is then inhaled. Often the action goes on in enclosed or semi enclosed sheds which exacerbates the problem.

 

[masterBK]

Like sorting out old mouldy combs in your bee shed ?
There are a couple of species of Aspergillus that attack the brood causing Stone brood. I am one of the few people to have ever seen a case of Stone brood (and that was over 30 yrs ago and was shown to me at Luddington) as it is quite rare in UK.

By the way not to be confused with the beer!
http://www.bestofbritishbeer.co.uk/stone-brood.html

 

[eddyh]

At least mould is not good for combs. Bees must rebuild those parts, but it is not end of the world.

What is end of the world is Bailey comb exhange. It is really worse than mold.

But in super combs I have seen, that if the cells are mouldy, and flow is good, bees do not have time to clean the cells and they fill the mouldy cells with honey.
.

End of world is bailey comb change.Really ,never heard that one before?

 

[Finman]

End of world is bailey comb change.Really ,never heard that one before?

The basic of beekeeping is the build up of the spring. That you get a hive to yield contition. It takes 6-8 weeks from since the colony starts brooding

If you destroy brood with combs, what idea is in it. It is controversy to normal beekeeping.
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If you do not destroy brood, and you just give new foundations, that is nothing method and nothing Bailey. Every beekeeper gives new foundations to hives.

 

[JWF]

Unless there is a large amount of mould which is able to be breathed in I can't imagine it's a significant issue, unless you're immunosuppressed - in which case you'll need to be generally careful, not just during beekeeping!