I found what appears to be a under developed bee dead bee at the entrance to my Flow hive. It is wingless and has a short abdomen that is all white. Does this mean something bad is happening in the brood hive?
It means there was something wrong with it and it died - the house bees are cleaning - good tendency to have - hygienic bees
Is it chalky in texture? If not like @Valli says it is probably just hygienic bees doing what they do. If it is chalky then it is chalkbrood and may require some input from you to fix it. Some bees that have high hygienic traits may kick out heavily varroa infested brood as well. So that is also another possibility.
Thanks for the responses. I’m trying to figure out how to attach a picture on my iPad. It does not appear to have a chalk like appearance. I had a look in the brood hive two days ago and saw nothing unusual. We have had a unusually cool spring here in northern Illinois and the brood is developing slowly. I’m a new bee keeper so I guess I’m like a first time parent and worry about every sniffle coming from my hive.
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@K9GSD if the brood becomes chilled - especially if the inspection takes too long or cools the brood below a certain level, this will happen.
Try to keep hive inspections reasonably quick. Chalk brood is a fungus - you can’t stop it, what you can do is prevent it happening - the fungus does not normally survive in the brood nest if the temperature is correct ie 35°C for eggs and slightly lower for larvae and capped - the bees will regulate it.
http://www.bbka.org.uk/local/sgbka/bm~doc/common-brood-disorders-2.pdf
Thanks for the info and link. I will keep my inspections during warmer weather if possible.
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