DSD 6438snortybrood
chalkbrood_frame
A frame of brood that is not so healthy. The white stuff in cells are chalkbrood mummies. This colony is probably infected with chalkbrood, possibly also brood disease (AFB or EFB), and perhaps also varroa mites. When varroa mite infection is severe, it often causes frames like this, which is called bee PMS (parasitic mite syndrome). Photo by Prof. M.V. Smith, University of Guelph.
strange_capping
Well, this capping is not 'normal' or 'usual'. Notice the rosette pattern? one normal looking brood cell was surrounded by six sunken cells. Normal brood should all look like the center cell. After seeing this in my observation colony, I was betting with my lab members that there were probably no brood in these sunken cells. I was wrong! there were normal worker pupae in all cells. Genetic? when the colony swarmed, I harvested it and the same queen produced similar pattern in the new colony! I should have saved a frame in the freezer and could have published another paper...Prof. Randall Hepburn (South Africa) has written a book on wax of bees and showed many strange patterns but he has not seen this type either. He did see rosette patterns before, but usually the center cell is a 'false' cell (no larva). Here all cells have larvae. MSU observation hive, May 3, 2000. Note, I have discovered (on June 3rd, 2003, three years and one month later...) another queen is doing this again, in the same observation hive! We will try to 'study' what causes these wierd cappings to occur.-- Zachary Huang
uncappedbrood
Brood of Apis mellifera uncapped by workers. Pupae seem to develop normally within these uncapped cells. The significance of this is not clear. Some think bees maybe uncapping the cells when they detect varroa mites there. It is true also in Apis cerana this phenomenon is more common, where varroa is not a problem. MSU apiary. July 17, 2002.
solid_brood
A healthy colony, with a young queen, should produce brood like this. While the brood is healthy. There are something usual about the pattern of capping. Have you seen anything different? Next photo explains why.