Hi guys, I have just gone to harvest honey and 1 frame was full of this. Can anyone suggest what might be the cause and if the honey is still edible if strained.
Thanks so much.
Hi Tracey, I hate to say it but that looks like wax moth poo to me. Some debris and even larvae, like from small hive beetles, can make its way into the honey under normal circumstances, but your pics seem to show more than “some”. When you see a lot of pest larvae and/or droppings, then they have a strong foothold which indicates colony weakness. Another, less gloomy possibility is that wax moths were in your Fframes while unguarded, maybe in storage? And left a lot of poo in the channels at the bases of the frames. Bees can’t get in there to clean, so out it came with the honey during harvest.
Make sure to lift out and look at the Flow frames, and also do an inspection of the brood box asap - if it is an active wax moth infestation, your bees need help getting them under control.
Meanwhile, I guess it’s up to you whether you discard the honey or filter it and use it. I might be inclined to filter it and either save as winter bee feed, or use it in cooking or brewing. Then again, I don’t know if I shake the YUCK factor from my mind ![]()
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Good luck and please keep us posted!
Edit: Here’s an older & relevant post:

