Yuck!

[gunny]

Gathered up a swarm last summer, all I had was a shallow super so that's where they went.

Late summer checked on them and they were doing good,about 80% filled so went and added another super.  Checked on them again late fall and all looked good so suck on an entrance reducer and left them alone.

Noticed yesterday that there was no activity on the bottom board. laid an ear on top and tapped on the side, heard a good buzzing and got stung.  Suited up to take a look.

The shallow on the bottom was pretty much abandoned, some pollen, very little honey, a bad odor (not foul brood), cells moldy and a lot of trash on the bttom board.  Took off the shallow super, slid in a new bottom board and looked at the top frames, looked OK for a hive coming out of winter, not great and also not bad.  No wax moths.  They were coming and going from the top entrance.

Thoughts/comments/ideas?

[buzzbee]

Maybe they moved up with the cluster through the winter. If you have a musty smell you probably need more ventilation.It is possible some of the honey wasn't capped going into winter and fermented.

[kathyp]

might also be moldy bees on the bottom board.  that's what i cleaned of a couple of weeks ago.  not nice, but i think normal in my wet climate.

[Drone]

all looked good so suck on an entrance reducer and left them alone.

Maybe if you stop sucking on the entrance reducer your moisture and mold problem will go away. 

Just kidding of course, but it does sound like your hive may be collecting water on the bottom board or slatted rack if you are using one.

I use the Better Bee slatted racks and have found that water will puddle in the front if the hive is tilted forward. I drilled small holes to allow for drainage, but the bees filled the holes with propolis. This year I increased the hole size to 3/8" so, hopefully, the bees will not fill them.

I could see mold growing everywhere the water was puddling and even some mold on the bottom corners of the frames.

-John