A little help from the list, please.

I have one colony that is not doing well.  I think I can identify most usual bee
diseases, but I am not sure with this one.  (Is it even a disease?) There is a
peppered appearance to the brood nest with brood of numerous ages of brood and
eggs intermixed.  It seems that the queen is doing her job, but the brood seem
to not be surviving.  I considered foul brood.  Yet there is not the stringy
appearance to dead brood and no characteristic smell.  It also seems that the
brood are dying at different ages. Some seem to be a blob of white stuff.  Some
have pupated (a word?) and the pupa is dead... sometimes white, sometimes brown
in color.   I know chalk brood and there are no mummies.

A month ago this colony seemed fine and I added the first super.  They licked
the wet super clean and have stored nothing.  Not surprising because there
numbers are shrinking.

I have thought of requeening, but the queen is laying lots of eggs.  Maybe for
some reason the eggs are not viable.  I have removed the super and considered
removing one hive body. (All the action is in the top of two hive bodies.)
Perhaps this will reduce the stress and allow them to recuperate.  I considered
medicating them for foul brood - late though it may be - but this doesn't seem
to be foul brood disease.

Being a hobbyist, I have the time to ponder, play, and expend time to save this
group.  I'm sure the pros would restart the colony from scratch.  Any
suggestions?  What am I dealing with?

Larry Krengel
Marengo, IL