PerthshireBees · Perthshire, UK · Pests & Disease · Aug 2, 2026

Chalkbrood back again after a fortnight of Perthshire drizzle — beyond ventilation, what actually moves the needle?

Seven years in Perthshire, six hives. One colony throws chalkbrood mummies every time we get a cool damp spell — and we've just had two solid weeks of it. White and grey mummies on the floor and a few on the landing board again, maybe a dozen a day. Same hive as the flare-up in May; the other five on the same stand are clean. I've done the standard things: mesh floor is open, the stand has the hive tilted slightly forward so rain doesn't pool inside, entrance is full-width for airflow, and the site gets morning sun. It helps — flare-ups fade when the weather dries — but this colony clearly carries the problem while its neighbours don't. Which points at genetics, right? Ascosphaera is everywhere; susceptibility is the variable. Is requeening toward hygienic stock the actual fix here, and has anyone seen a chronic chalkbrood colony genuinely turn the corner from a queen change alone?

#chalkbrood#ventilation#hygienic-stock

▲ 9 votes 💬 3 replies

3 replies

muglabalci · Aug 2, 2026

Yes — requeening is the fix, and yes, I've watched it work. One damp-valley yard of mine had a chronic chalkbrood colony for two seasons; new queen from hygienic-tested stock and the mummies were gone within two brood cycles, same site, same weather. You've already optimised the environment. When one hive out of six is sick, you're looking at the bees, not the box.

MieleMarco · Aug 2, 2026

Agree on the queen, but do the housekeeping alongside: the comb in that brood nest is loaded with spores by now, so cycle those frames out aggressively over the next season rather than letting the new queen's brood sit in them. And a nutrition check — chalkbrood bites hardest in colonies with a chilled or protein-stressed brood nest, and a chronic case is sometimes a colony too weak to cover its brood properly.

LavenderSophie · Aug 3, 2026

Third vote for requeen, with a small caution: it takes about two brood cycles after the new queen's bees dominate before you can judge, so don't call it failed in three weeks. And keep clearing the landing board mummies meanwhile — house bees dumping them there is the hygienic behaviour you want, at least.

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