The question is, are virus still resident on brood frames from a dead hive?

Whenever I have a dead out I do not introduce a frame that had or has brood
from that hive to a new hive unless I have scraped it down (plastic
foundation) and disinfected it, but I continually see recommendations to
use old frames, usually wood, on a new hive mostly for any honey they have
and that there is drawn foundation. The usual added comment is that the
bees will clean up any problems like dead brood.

When I clean up the frames, I check every capped cell to see what happened
to the brood and find the usual Varroa virus problems.Even though those
frames will have gone through a Maine winter, I suspect that the virus
could have made it through in the dead brood.

Is that true?

In any case I do know that any bacteria or fungi probably made it through
just fine so that is reason enough not to use the frames until they are
cleaned up.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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