We are about 7 weeks into our first hive and we have a lot of building on the bottom of the frame, including drone brood. Does this look normal?
1 Like
Hi Julie, welcome to the forum! Some drone brood is normal & healthy, but as you saw when you lifted that frame out, its placement outside the frame creates a mess. You should scrape off any comb that extends past the frames to avoid hurting bees or brood when you inspect, and try not to leave any large debris inside the hive that can become handy food or nesting areas for pests like small hive beetles.
Which frame was this, and how many frames are this full/look like this? A sudden increase of drones is an early sign of swarming, so if the rest of your frames look this full it’s time to put a super on, or split to pre-empt a swarm. Looking at the worker-cell area on that frame it seems like open cells are getting backfilled with pollen and nectar, which might mean the queen has stopped laying in preparation.
1 Like