Hello all, I have a question on propolis. I have an outyard located about 40 miles north of the general area I keep my other yards. It is on a farm in an area that is the beginning of a mountainous region. It is colder there then it is here in the valley area. I guess there are some trees that grow there that are not around here, like white birch, but the area is relatively the same. For the past two seasons the colonies there have collected a type of propolis unsimilar to anything I have ever seen. This is the third season for the bees at that location. The first year I didn't notice it. They collect a lot of it and it appears to "run" like melted wax down the comb during warm weather. When I first saw it I thought someone had dumped something down the hole in the inner cover. It literally dripped down across capped comb. When the substance is cooler it is hard and brittle almost like dried varnish. It does not smell funny or different and it even tastes like propolis although I have never seen propolis run. In warm weather it is usually like taffy. The colonies are somewhat shaded however we did have a very hot summer but this area would have been cooler than other locations. The bees are healthy and produced as much honey as my other colonies. I just don't know what it is. I scraped and discarded most of it but I would really like to know from what plant they are collecting. The farm grows some vegetables and pumpkins, corn and hay. No one has complained that the bees are in any buildings so I doubt that they got into something they shouldn't have. Maybe this is normal and I just don't see it in my other locations. Thoughts? Ron Bogansky Kutztown, (eastern) PA, USA