Flow Forum,
I put my bee package in on 4/13 and am super excited to have my first hive up and running!!! The bees are loving the spring here in the great Pacific Northwest.
As I am new to all of this…should I be keeping this debris from my bottom board…see attached pic? I see lots of pollen chunks, but I’m unsure of the other droppings. I want to have food/stores to give the hive over the winter. Any ideas? How should I collect it and keep it if at all?
Thanks,
Mark
Most of that is wax scales that went unused.
I wouldn’t keep it myself but you can if you like.
Hard to tell at this magnification, even though you gave a nice quality picture, but it looks to me like there are a quite a number of varroa mites in that image. I think you should treat it like Las Vegas - what falls onto the bottom board stays on the bottom board. 
That’s a great photo, and also a great photo of the wax flakes, thank you @Bobby_Thanepohn.
I never thought of it as wax flake, but that must be partly what it is. I think the rest must be bits of pollen, the odd leg:) & stuff that falls down. It would be too early for brood capping debris. I’d be inclined to get rid of it, otherwise wax moth will breed up in it. If you were in a SHB area, they would also breed up in it.
Looks like the stuff on my bottom board. I’ve been checking with a magnifying glass but so far no varroa. I dust it off & put it (the board) back.
i see wax scales. smoosh it together and toss if on one of the frames.
Yes I upped the magnification - looks like a few Varroa
Thanks for the replies. Is there anything I should do about the Varroa with such a new package? I check the board again yesterday and there were only a couple specks that I thought could be the Varroa that you are referencing, much more wax scales and pollen this time around.
Mark
I got this today… i dont know know if i have too much pollen that my bees are just letting em drop to the bottom board. 20180313_065134|375x500
Sure looks like pollen to me @TitoQuick. If you’re adventurous you could try tasting it - most pollen is very tangy & wax is only slightly scented of honey. I’d think you could sweep it off the board into a container & freeze for later use.
Thanks @Eva , yeah i just did what you suggested… tasted it right from the board… haha… it doesnt taste like dangerous or anything so i thought its pollen… i strained it from the board and placed it in a keeper.
This is a first time for me and dont know if its just normal to have this excess pollen in 3 days… gonna keep it in the chiller for future use…
@Eva is right, you should freeze it if you are going to keep it. Even in the fridge/chiller, it can go mouldy pretty quickly, and pollen mites can still be active on it, destroying the nutritional value. 
My bees are bringing in tons of bright yellow pollen right now. Makes it very challenging to spot the queen, who also has a bright yellow dot on her!
