Yay!...No really, I mean it. The alternative is Foulbrood. The Deacon of our bee club contacted the State Apiarist today and gave him all of the info from this hive. The State Apiarist said it is 'Chilled Brood' that we are looking at not a Foulbrood. He said he didn't need to see the frames himself and that he is certain. The damage to the brood is typical for chilled brood. At this point i have never seen Foulbrood or Chilled brood. I assumed the worst and hope for the best. Earlier today i did the String test. I could not get any strings from the rotten brood after numerous attempts.
So the good news i don't have to burn the bees, woodenware, & gloves. The bad news remains this colony is queenless and done for. Unless, i can get a mated queen. Not impossible yet. A shipment of them arrived just over a week ago at a local dealer. IF he has one left i'll take it.
Otherwise i can save the colony for a few more weeks on the odd chance a swarm shows up. Late September swarms are common around here. We think there are several bee trees nearby that have been spawning them off for the past few years. This colony showed up a year ago themselves.
There is an issue of a laying worker. If a swarm shows up we'll see what happens. From what i can tell there may only bee a single laying worker in there. The presence of a Queen might remedy that.
If a swarm doesn't show up i'll dump the bees out just outside the apiary. The good bees will drift to new hives (remember i have 6 & my neighbor has 6). The laying bees will die off. Then i'll have primed equipment for Spring swarm season.
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| No String |
Otherwise i can save the colony for a few more weeks on the odd chance a swarm shows up. Late September swarms are common around here. We think there are several bee trees nearby that have been spawning them off for the past few years. This colony showed up a year ago themselves.
There is an issue of a laying worker. If a swarm shows up we'll see what happens. From what i can tell there may only bee a single laying worker in there. The presence of a Queen might remedy that.
If a swarm doesn't show up i'll dump the bees out just outside the apiary. The good bees will drift to new hives (remember i have 6 & my neighbor has 6). The laying bees will die off. Then i'll have primed equipment for Spring swarm season.
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