Bottom drawer evidence

I haven’t seen this kind of design in my bottom board detritus before. Does it tell you anything? The first picture is a close-up; second picture is full view of the bottom board. Thanks for any insights you can provide!


Are they web tunnels with caterpillars inside?

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As @chau06 suggests, those look like wax moth web tunnels. I would clean that tray more often!

:blush:

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Put some cheap vegetable oil in the tray. Any bug that falls into it has a oneway trip.

Cheers
Rob.

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Thanks for the info. Can you tell me a little more, I’m 2 years in and still learning.

I just opened up the hive and it looks strong. If that bottom tray tells us there are wax moths down there, are they endangering my hive? Or does my strong hive keep them in check and that bottom tray is as close as they can get?

Wax moths are a fact of beekeeping life. They will be inside the hive too, but should be controlled by the bees if the hive is strong. They won’t accumulate in the bottom tray if you clean it out every couple of weeks, because then there won’t be anything for them to eat. The crusty stuff mixed with the web is partly wax - they were eating that :wink:

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