A very valid point Dawn, a photo is maybe 1/5000th of a second of the frame, and what can look like perforated cells can be a frame of emerged baby bees a few hours later, A frame that looks terribly light on with bees could have been covered by bee prior to them being shaken off for a photo that can be so misleading. The position of a frame in the hive is vital information to make an assessment.
A photo is helpful but much more value with added information.
Cheers
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Interesting you say that Dawn, because when I noticed that kind of pattern in my own hives, thatâs what I was worrying about too, and was considering changing the queen. New queens were not available, so I did nothing about it. They eventually came good once food increased, and I am satisfied with the queen.
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I think you can stop worrying, but donât stop being observant!!
Weâve got an interesting discussion, thanks to your post.
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Iâve seen that sort of laying pattern too from time to time, I wouldnât worry about it but I leave a mention on my computer to have a look at my next inspection and the big majority of times things are as I would expect to find them.
When there is a lack of nectar in the bush it can really make me scratch my head wondering if the queen has become a dud. Suddenly little brood when the brood frames should be well populated with brood. It can be a real brain tease and easy to loose the over all picture not just about the hive but the conditions too. Cheers
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I donât think the issue of the underdeveloped baby bee getting ejected stems from that brood frame in the photo. It possibly comes from another frame that perhaps has more drone brood in it. Just be careful while doing inspections to not squash any bees between combs while putting it back together again. Also give the bees adequate room between the combs in order to chase beetles.
This hot humid weather is beetles favorite time to breed up in. If we give them an inch, theyâll take a yard. My money is on beetles causing the problem. Mainly because the same thing happened to my observation hive last week.
I closed it up for a day with the view of repositioning it around the back after 3 days. Before 24 hours were up, the bees started ejecting bits of brood through the vent. Upon removing the side panel, I noticed lots of bees running around with bits of brood trying to eject it. I quickly put it back to itâs original position to allow the bees to remove the brood via the entrance. An inspection a couple of days later revealed damage to the brood caused by beetles.
My theory is that while the bees were focused on trying to get out, it allowed the beetles that are normally contained free access to the brood to damage it & lay eggs in it. Itâs easy to recognize, itâs damaged comb with empty cells where the brood used to be. So look out for something similar.
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Hi Jeff, Iâm not familiar with your muggy climate, and what pests it stirs up. We donât have SHB here, and donât know much about them eitherâŚ
The questioner never mentioned beetles, and I assume because there werenât any.
So, are these SHB, invisible in a hive? Are they hard to find at all? I was thinking that if the problem is as you say, beetles, they would be obvious in the inspection just carried out?
Although we donât have this pest (and others) here I still like to watch out for them.
Hi Zzz, they are noticable & vary in size from a tiny undersized match head to a large match head & dark brown to black in color. You find them hiding in a hive because the bees chase them until they find somewhere to hide. The bees try to, however cant kill them.
Because @Y_Dowling is in Sydney, Iâd assume beetles would be present in his/her hive. Itâs like around here, if youâve got bees, youâve got beetles. The only difference would be the number of beetles in one hive compared to another.
I frequently see damage in brood frames like I described earlier. Damaged comb with brood removed & left empty. Left empty because the bees donât like working on it on account of the hive beetle slime residue in that area.
Even though I find the damaged comb, it doesnât mean the hive got slimed out. It means the beetles got started in a particular spot, however the bees were able to overwhelm them & clean it up, leaving the telltale cleaned up damaged comb. Removing damaged brood is all part of that cleanup.
This possibly could be what happened with @Y_Dowlingâs hive.
I have some brood frames with a lot of beetle damage that the bees were able to overwhelm. Next opportunity Iâll take a photo to share.
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Remember you have an excellent video clip showing a heap of SHB in a hive. That clip is a real eye opener. The hot and humid weather has certainly booster the bee numbers and the SHBâs as well.
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Cheers Jeff. Beetles are so alien to us here in southern WA.
I need to send a box of Havanas to the guys at quarantine⌠they do a fantastic job!
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Hi Pete, Iâm also seeing an increase in beetle numbers. Iâm not sure what video youâre referring to. Anyway the internet has plenty of images of them. The photos Iâm going to take are of the damage beetles do to comb before the bees clean it up. Some of my problems are probably my own fault for not tilting the hives forward enough. Water laying in hive crud is perfect for beetles to breed in. Itâs my job to make sure no water pools on the bottom boards. It hasnât led to any slime outs. Strong populations have seen to that. The damage is obvious though.
cheers
I googled âhavanasâ. I suspected you meant cigars. The search only revealed thongs (flip flops).
I agree, the bio security do a fantastic job.
I successfully live with hive beetles, however Iâd relish not having to live with them again.
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It was tongue in cheek. They are made from organic matter, and theyâll go straight to the incinerator 
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I thought you did a video clip of you lifting the roof and lots of SHB running to hide. Some warm and humid weather and they breed up their numbers in no time at all. Most bee keepers under estimate how much damage they can do in a hive that isnât a strong colony.
WOW, 6:15am and a blue sky and a drop in humidity, I hate it when as soon as I put my ventilated suit on I start to sweatâŚ
Cheers
Now I know what you mean 
I would never have figured it out without you explaining it. A smoker among them might have thought âif theyâre going to go up in smoke, they might as well be enjoyedâ.
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Good morning everyone, another twist in this tale! Iâve gone out this morning to find a few dead drone bees on the ground below the landing board in addition to a couple more dead brood. Could it be that the hive is controlling the number or drones in the colony?? Photo below.
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Little bit early, but yes, it could well be the start of winter preparations. 
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Good morning Yoland. It wouldnât surprise me if the evicted brood is drone brood. I wonder if the adult evicted drones were at the point of emerging & unable to emerge properly, so they got evicted. Anyway youâre doing the right thing by monitoring daily.
I doubt if drones get evicted down your way this early in the season. They may not get evicted at all.
cheers
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Thanks Jeff and Dawn. Weâre doing a brood inspection this weekend so weâll be sure to check for SHB damage as well
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Youâre welcome Yoland, just look out for any inconsistencies in the comb. Especially if it has been cleaned out & empty.
The Fall armyworm right on our doorsteps looks like being a challenge for our bio security friends.
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