Three hives have dark brown combs

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Jacroo
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Location: Floresville, TX

Three hives have dark brown combs

Unread post by Jacroo »

I just lost one hive to moths. I now have three hives with dark brown combs. Does anybody know what is causing and how to fix? Also, looking for a book on honeybee diseases that has colored pictures so I can compare. Recently purchased Honey bee pests, predators and diseases but frankly way over my head. Thanks
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BadBeeKeeper
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Re: Three hives have dark brown combs

Unread post by BadBeeKeeper »

The brood combs will turn darker with age and use, this is expected and is not a problem.

For a book on diseases, get "A Field Guide To Honey Bees and Their Maladies" by the PennState College of Agricultural Sciences.

http://extension.psu.edu/publications/agrs-116/view

It's $12.00 for a wirebound book that is small enough to slip into a pocket and take with you, it shows you both correct development and diseases, with plenty of color pictures that you can use to compare right out in your bee yard.

You can also download a .pdf copy for free to have on your computer to study while you are inside too (if you want to make pictures bigger, etc.).
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Jacroo
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Re: Three hives have dark brown combs

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Thanks so very much for the info and book suggestions
Allen Dick
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Re: Three hives have dark brown combs

Unread post by Allen Dick »

Moths almost never kill viable hives, so I would suspect some other primary cause.

How many years old are the combs and are they dark brown or black?
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
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Jacroo
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Re: Three hives have dark brown combs

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We had a straight line storm several months ago which blew all our hives apart and scattered them around. Put them back together as best we could. They were all wet or moist. The one hive died and it was obliterated with black webbing. The other four are not at full strength still and I am concerned that there seems to be little honey and again the brown combs. One is 3 years, and the others are new from the spring. Thanks again. I do have apistan strips in all hives.
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Charlie
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Re: Three hives have dark brown combs

Unread post by Charlie »

For those of you who use an Android Phone the following link is for the "Bee Health" App.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... alth&hl=en

For those of you who use a "I-whatever device" I believe the link is
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/bee-hea ... 31410?mt=8

I am not sure if this App is supported on Windows devices.

I am sure a lot of people would find this App helpful. I am certain this is not the "bee-all" for bee health. (Sorry for the pun) and I do not know if it is 100% complete but it is a very good start with a lot of pictures.
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BadBeeKeeper
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Re: Three hives have dark brown combs

Unread post by BadBeeKeeper »

Jacroo wrote:We had a straight line storm several months ago which blew all our hives apart and scattered them around. Put them back together as best we could. They were all wet or moist.
Oh. Well, that doesn't sound good at all. I've never seen 'black webbing'.

It has been a very long time since I lived in Texas, and it's a big state with different characteristics in different areas, so I have no idea what you might have for nectar opportunities for the rest of the year. You may need to feed.
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Jacroo
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Re: Three hives have dark brown combs

Unread post by Jacroo »

Thank you both so very much for the info and application link :D Turns out that the dark brown was wax, so that was good news. Bad news was paramoths destroyed one hive completely. Now, if I could ask another question. I have purchased an in-depth book on bee maladies, but WAY over my head for now. The question is that I have a frame in one of my hives that is covered in wax, but the liquid inside is completely black like really dirty automotive oil. Just seems wrong. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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BadBeeKeeper
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Re: Three hives have dark brown combs

Unread post by BadBeeKeeper »

Jacroo wrote: The question is that I have a frame in one of my hives that is covered in wax, but the liquid inside is completely black like really dirty automotive oil. Just seems wrong. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Well, I can't see it from here,so I'll have to guess. Honey can range in color from very light to very dark depending on the source. Buckwheat makes a very dark honey, almost like molasses judging by some I've seen.

Does it smell good? Taste good?

A picture is worth 1,000 words.

You really should find someone nearby who can show you how normal hives are supposed to look, so you have some frame of reference (pardon the pun).

In the meantime, I'll see if I can dig up some pictures.
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