I got no response for the same question, so I did a bit of homework and
understand why there was no answer- no one has done any research, that I
could find, on the question.    plus, when some who should know are
questioned, they do not know.

But, a friend who also asked the question and go no answer did a partially
scientific test (no controls so ...) and introduced a winter dead-out's
brood frame into to a healthy spring colony and fairly quickly all the
virus symptoms showed up which confirmed both their and my supposition that
it is not a good idea to allow the bees to clean up the mess but to scrape
them down- plastic- or remove comb -wood- and not re-infect the bees.

One interesting titbit was that some said that they did not do it and had
fine results, but they were from warmer climates and left the frames in
metal storage sheds so the heat probably destroyed the pathogens.

Be happy to be proved wrong. Problem is that "letting the bees do it" is
taught to beekeepers and from what my friend found, that is bad advice.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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