Sticky Board surprises

[carrieg]

I did a 24 hour natural mite drop yesterday under our first and only hive and found no mites, which is great as we have had a lot of mites earlier in the summer and have treated with apilife var. However, in the middle of the board is a blob of brown goo, in the photo it looks smudged because I stuck my finger in it to see the consistancy. Is it bee crap, seems unusual for bees to crap inside the hive in late August when they are still busy foraging. Is it a sign of illness, if so which and what do I need to do about it?

[gavin]

It is great that your mite numbers are low. Seems similar here. Might the brown stuff be a drop of tar from a smoker? It seems a bigger drop than the usual dysentery spot.

[carrieg]

It is great that your mite numbers are low. Seems similar here. Might the brown stuff be a drop of tar from a smoker? It seems a bigger drop than the usual dysentery spot.

I don't think so because I hardly used any smoke at all when I last inspected and that was 8 days ago, I am baffled, and because I am a new beekeeper this year and this is my first hive when I see something unexpected on the sticky board I worry that it is some terrible disease.

and thank you for replying Gavin.

[gavin]

If you don't have access to a microscope you could try scraping it off onto a piece of paper, folding and sending to me.

Have a look for additional spots on the comb when you next lift frames.

G.

[mbc]

I've got loads of random shit I could post you Gavin if you'd like to pay for the postage.

[carrieg]

I'll have another look tomorrow and look at the frames too.. hopefully it is unecessary worry on my part. Thanks for help!