unhatched brood becoming uncapped

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spiderplantman said:
Thank you everyone, I really, really am very grateful for the help and advice you given me here. Reducer back on. Bees have a fighting chance now.
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Have a look at the gas-vap, its a good tool to have, one cloud straight in 20 seconds tops.
 
Was not able to access page 1 of this thread. I take it the answer was VSH bees and high varroa count in which case it does not work very well??
 
Can you vape? Quick reduction in varroa. Few, if any, worries about side effects and you can do it now.
 
spiderplantman said:
Thank you everyone, I really, really am very grateful for the help and advice you given me here. Reducer back on. Bees have a fighting chance now.
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Might make sense to fit a tunnel entrance as the wasps have already got into the hive - see posts on wasp out etc for easy home made quick fixes. They really do make a difference.
 
spiderplantman said:
Thanks all, really, really appreciated. We're attempting to rule out the varroa aspect first, so we've applied the MAQS strips we had already, and those get taken off in 7 days time.

Presumably if that's not the trick, and it is wax moth, then we just remove the affected frames and put them in the freezer for a couple of days before putting them back in the brood box?
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No need to do anything re. the wax moth, the bees will sort it out. Putting the frame in the freezer would kill all the brood in the frame too. The brood in the affected cells will continue to develop normally if left alone. Use the freezer to kill wax mouth larvae on EMPTY frames before storing. Treat for varroa as already suggested. It'll be fine 🙂
 
spiderplantman said:
This particular colony was a colony bought hive, bees, lock, stock from a private seller in Norfolk who has discovered his little girl was anaphylactic back in June and had to give up looking after them. He said he had last treated for Varroa at Christmas, and gave me his leftover MAQS strips as part of the deal (not sure yet if I'm going to use them). The bee inspector we had round to check them for AFB/EFB etc said he really had looked after them and she was impressed. Haven't checked for mite drop since we got them in June, but we've been looking by eye and haven't seen any varraosis (sp?) to speak of. That bee with the mite on it in the photo is the first we've seen. Was planning an Apivar in Sept followed by Oxy in Dec, but if you suspect a big infestation, happy to use the MAQS he gave me as an emergency treatment.
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I would caution against Oxy in December, the hive needs to be as low as possible with open brood and be cold and clustering, these conditions are more likely to be end Feb/March time. This is a late winter treatment really assuming you are talking about the drible method and not vaporizing. As for MAQS if it is your only hive it is definitely not a good idea.
 
spiderplantman said:
Hi all,

Firstly, hi, I'm new here, sorry for lurking a little while, didn't want to jump in all boisterously and that.

My wife and I have 4 hives in rural Suffolk. During a routine inspection this weekend we discovered several clumps of what looks like previously capped brood becoming uncapped. You can see their white heads poking through, obviously not fully formed yet. As we watched, we saw some worked bees remove one of the grubs, and then put it back in the cell.

Does anyone know what it might be that's causing it? It's not a huge amount of cells affected, just some on one colony.

Photo and video below. Queen just about present under another bee's bum just above centre of pic! Also, just above and to the left of the queen is a bee with a varroa mite on it. We haven't seen much of that in this colony, but this shows they are present. I don't know if that's related to this or not?

Any clues?

Video here

View attachment 21717
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The thin cappings at the top left of the uncapped brood look like wax moth. Tap the frame hard on the top bar with your hive tool, usually the it will pop up to see what's happening.
 
spiderplantman said:
Hi all,

Firstly, hi, I'm new here, sorry for lurking a little while, didn't want to jump in all boisterously and that.

My wife and I have 4 hives in rural Suffolk. During a routine inspection this weekend we discovered several clumps of what looks like previously capped brood becoming uncapped. You can see their white heads poking through, obviously not fully formed yet. As we watched, we saw some worked bees remove one of the grubs, and then put it back in the cell.

Does anyone know what it might be that's causing it? It's not a huge amount of cells affected, just some on one colony.

Photo and video below. Queen just about present under another bee's bum just above centre of pic! Also, just above and to the left of the queen is a bee with a varroa mite on it. We haven't seen much of that in this colony, but this shows they are present. I don't know if that's related to this or not?

Any clues?

Video here

View attachment 21717
Click to expand...
Looking at the frame more closely, I can see several thin cappings, it may be worth asking the seasonal bee inspector to have a look.
 
Kaz said:
Looks like bald brood, if it's only in small patches it's likely caused by wax moth larvae. The brood continues to develop normally. I've had this a few times. Just keep an eye on the unsealed brood for any other signs of disease?
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Yep, bald brood. There are good photos here explaining the difference between wax moth BB and hygienic behaviour BB.

Bald brood has been everywhere this year but the bald in SPM's photo looks like wax moth damage; tap the frame as Patrick suggests. Varroa infestation looks high (well spotted, smok!) but you have treatment in hand.
 
ericbeaumont said:
Yep, bald brood. There are good photos here explaining the difference between wax moth BB and hygienic behaviour BB.

Bald brood has been everywhere this year but the bald in SPM's photo looks like wax moth damage; tap the frame as Patrick suggests. Varroa infestation looks high (well spotted, smok!) but you have treatment in hand.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that a very useful recap. As I could not see any eyes I thought the heads were chewed off. Supposedly there is a genetic variant of bald brood any info on that? Still can't access page 1.
 
I have used MAQS since it was first released/authorised (not sure how many years that is). I usually have between 4 to 8 colonies/ national single brood box hives. Never had one loss, dead queen/or problem.
Follow the instructions, give the dose as per the instructions, ventilate well (I have open mesh floors) and I also leave a super on full or empty just for space.
Apply in early evening (cooler so initial slower release of vapour) the strength reduces over the week it is on.
Varroa drop usually countable.
I put the varroa tray way below the hive under the stand not in the floor slot to ensure ventilation not obstructed.
Residue strip at end of treatment is starch based and compostable or put in council recycle bin.
Possibly expensive relative to other treatments but shorter timescale, natural, can be used with supers on, new release now has 2 year sell by life. And I have found it works for me. (Obviously rotate with other treatments to prevent immunity developing).
 
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