Spotty brood pattern, with many cells vacant or containing dying brood with a mixture of signs of disease. Some of the brood is molten and slimy in the cell (“snot” brood). Adult populations are often too sparse to blanket the brood area adequately and may exhibit signs of deformed wing virus (DWV) or other viral diseases. Adult bees appear greasy or hairless and may be trembling or unsteady in their movements; often seen concentrated on the top bar of top box or outside colony entrance. May cause colony death in fall, or colony condition may deteriorate over winter and then the colony either dies in early spring (deadout) or survives with small, weakened population.
Parasitic mite syndrome (PMS) (also termed parasitic mite brood syndrome or PMBS) includes a spotty capped brood pattern that is not compact and solidly of one brood stage, and with too few adults to cover the brood area. High varroa mite numbers are often present when sampled. There may be considerable numbers of dying brood, termed snot or cruddy brood, where the brood “melts” in the cell and is greyish in color. European foulbrood may be present, as well as unspecified brood death, including idiopathic brood disease syndrome.
Worker adults observed crawling, trembling, sometimes with DWV or acute or chronic bee paralysis virus. Signs of Kashmir bee virus or Israeli acute paralysis virus also may be present. Adult population may not be large enough to cover the brood area.
PMS-affected colonies die in the fall or often do not survive the winter, dying with few dead adults evident. Robbing behavior may give the impression of a functioning colony when in fact the colony is on the verge of collapse.
Sunken, perforated capped brood remains common on brood combs with stored honey reserves still present. Mold may cover the remains of a bee cluster and there may be a considerable number of (often moldy) dead bees covering the bottom board. The colony will have a sour or dying odor and colonies with considerable mold have somewhat distinctive mold odor when first opened and the dead moldy bees and brood are discovered. Colony death may occur in late fall, though a deadout may not be discovered until initial spring inspection.
viruses, fall decline, spring dwindle, adult bee depopulation, DWV
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