Oh Jeff, I’m feeling just a little sqeemish after reading about you way of dealing with drone lava:nauseated_face:
Looks OK to me. A few bits of wax and normal hive debris 
1 Like
Difficult to say with confidence without a macro shot but only see one mite. Make sure you have a mite plan!
What’s that?
I have already rinsed it off, unable to get a better shot. I’m not 100% sure what the dark brown spots are. I was thinking brood cap but…
. Total greenhorn here. It was not ever something with life, that’s for sure. What about that other bug though?
I think most of them are just small pieces of debris. The light colored concave (and much larger than the picture I zoomed in on) are caps. The one I zoomed on looks like a mite with barely visible antennae.
eww. Should I treat the hive? I have these.
Figure out how you’re going to monitor the levels (alcohol wash and sugar shake along with accelerated drop counts) seem to be the most popular here but natural drop counts may be acceptable depending who you ask.
If you are above threshold then consider treating but it may be too warm in TN to use formic pro. You could consider the oxalic acid-glycerin sponges for long term suppression (visit scientificbeekeeping.com and @Dawn_SD has posted about several times) or OA vaporization. There are other non-organic miticides and since you’re not collecting honey, you have a little more leeway. Do some searches on mite treatment and make a plan.
1 Like
thanks eagle eye. 
I’m wondering what this is!?
1 Like
Pollen mite. Harmless and unavoidable
2 Likes
You can put a small amount of oil in the tray, or some people use diatomaceous earth, to knock off any crawlies that get in there.
1 Like
I did olive oil for a week and came up with 3 of those pollen mites. I look at that tray 1 to 3 times a day and normally see nothing but hive debris. I find myself sitting on the rock in front of the hive watching them go more often than not 
poor German shepherd dog stares at me through the gates.
1 Like
Harmless beetle. Not a small hive beetle.
You don’t need to look that often. Once per week is plenty!
1 Like
I spend so much time out here around the hive. Not on a big lot. About 1/3 acre. I’m in the middle of the city. 
Haha!! Loved your comment about the art work. Jackson Pollock eat your heart out!! Kind regards, Regina
i found that the hive base that came with my flow hive 1 was a haven for wax moth and beetles.
it had a mesh base with the coreflute underneath it.
i changed the base to a beetletra base, which is solid with a line of slits that drops into a beetle trap, and since i did that, i rarely see beetles and moths anymore, and the bees keep the solid base spotless.
cheers
ron