Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DISEASE & PEST CONTROL => Topic started by: BB2 on May 28, 2011, 05:25:36 am

Title: Black mess on varroa board
Post by: BB2 on May 28, 2011, 05:25:36 am: Hi to all,

Discovered this forum and like it so making a first post to ask is there any cause for alarm after finding this black substance on the varroa board under a newly installed (one week) nucleus in a Langstroth hive.

There are only 5/6 varroa on the board and the bees are flying and active despite poor weather at present.
(http://)

Any positive diagnosis please.
(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/204/colony2suspect.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/39/colony2suspect.jpg/)

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Title: Re: Black mess on varroa board
Post by: G3farms on May 28, 2011, 08:09:19 am: bee poop
Title: Re: Black mess on varroa board
Post by: BB2 on May 28, 2011, 08:13:55 am: Hey!
Are you saying the big black blob almost at centre is bee poop!!??

That's a big pile of dung for a little bee!

How do they get it in one pile.

Would appreciate the how, what and when please but thanks for the reply.
Title: Re: Black mess on varroa board
Post by: Kathyp on May 28, 2011, 10:13:09 am: don't know what made the black glob, but other insects and critters get on your slide in. it's a great place for mice to nest if you leave them in over the winter ;-)

if the hive looks and acts healthy, stuff like that is probably not to important...
Title: Re: Black mess on varroa board
Post by: G3farms on May 28, 2011, 10:28:32 am: Quote from: BB2 on May 28, 2011, 08:13:55 am
How do they get it in one pile.

squat and squeeze :-D
Title: Re: Black mess on varroa board
Post by: AllenF on May 31, 2011, 08:41:41 pm: Women do seem to go the bathroom in groups........................
Title: Re: Black mess on varroa board
Post by: annette on May 31, 2011, 08:48:17 pm: I'm with Kathy on this one. Sometimes I find strange looking stuff on the bottom board, but I don't worry about it when the hive is otherwise healthy looking.
Title: Re: Black mess on varroa board
Post by: Michael Bush on June 01, 2011, 06:54:55 am: Something other than a bee probably was scavenging food from the tray and left some feces behind.