>  A good queen seems to keep it
>under control so much it is non-existent or barely visible.


I make nucs in mid-summer, from weak colonies...sacrificing them and making 
up nucs with their brood and bees. Sometimes the colony sacrificed has 
Chalk Brood. The nucs are started pretty weak...1.5 frames of bees, and 
enough bees to cover the brood. Initially, the nuc loses strength before 
the new queen is laying well, and her bees are hatching well. One batch of 
22 nucs in particular, made up about July 21st, was severely compromised by 
Chalk. Most of the brood was dead, and things sure did look grim about 
August 6th, when I removed the queen cages and checked for a laying queen. 
I went back again today. This is the time I make my final inspection of 
this summer's nucs. I adjust the strong and weak ones...by adding or 
subtracting frames of brood.

Well, the Chalky nucs have surprised me. They have 3 frames of brood at 
this point. Hardly a mummy could I find. While the brood patterns haven't 
fully recovered yet, and the populations are smaller than I like, the 
mummies are gone. In fact, the bees are dismembering and removing brood 
before there are mummies, and while the pupae are still white and soft. 
Amazing what hygienic bees will do...even when only weak nucs.
Mike  


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