Hypochondriac Panic Attack- Bee Hive Style

Ever get a pain and decide to search the internet to see what it might be only to discover that the pain could be the beginnings of a rare and terrible disease and then remind yourself that you have other symptoms? Thanks to Web-MD and other sites, it is really easy to self-misdiagnosis or become one of the world's leading hypochondriacs. The internet is really helpful for providing misinformation.

So that's what I did this week with the bees. I misdiagnosed and scared myself and I should know better. I am a librarian by profession and teach information literacy classes to college students. 

 On Tuesday July 1 I went into the hive to see what was going on. The girls had been in that hive for about 10 days. From the outside, I could see plenty of activity but I really wanted to know what was going on inside. So I donned the veil and entered.

I saw some positive stuff inside. I could see 2 full frames of honey and 2 full frames of brood and honey. There were still 3 new frames that hadn't been touched yet. There was another frame that sort of looked ok but caused me some concern.

I take pictures whenever I go into the hive. This helps me to later remind myself of what I saw and lets me enlarge the pictures to take a closer look at stuff. So I took pictures of the frames, closed up the hive and said good night to the girls.

Looking at the pictures on the computer monitor, that one frame just didn't look right. First, the foundation and the cappings are really dark in color. I know that this frame came in the nuc box and was probably used when the guy put the nuc together which would account for some of the coloring, but still it seemed dark. Second, there was capped brood but it was all over the frame, not nicely nestled together in a sort of oval shape with honey on the outside edges. Third, I could see into some of the cells and I saw pupae and larvae in various stages, liquid of some sort, some solid looking bits that were gold in color and some empty cells. 

Grabbing my trusty books, I began to look at pictures and descriptions of bee hive diseases and illnesses. Oh no, looks like foul brood of some type. Nope, wait, looks more like     I "googled" for more information and pictures and came away more depressed. My bees had a disease and I didn't know what one or what to do.

Wednesday morning I decided to ask the experts and posted the picture of my frame to the Northeast New Jersey Beekeepers Association FaceBook page and said I was concerned about this frame. I did not say what my concern was or what my several diagnosises (?) were. Then I waited for the cry from other more experienced beekeepers telling me I had to destroy my hive or quickly medicate the bees or some other action to save them.

Guess what happened? The responses were quick and positive. Nothing wrong with my bees. the experienced beeks said I was being over anxious and what they say in the frame was hatched brood, new eggs and larvae and happy bees.
Big sigh of relief from me.  thanks fellow beeks for keeping this new beek from having a bee panic attack!