=Diseases of Bees=
TO understand thoroughly the life of the bee as exhibited in the hive
is all to the benefit of the bee-keeper; for he will then quickly
appreciate when matters are at all wrong with the bee communities in
his care. He realises the necessity for keeping his stocks up to their
full strength, for his knowledge tells him that they are better in
every way for being numerically strong; they then keep warmer, consume
less food proportionately than when the hive is weak, and give a far
better return in brood and honey.
There are many infectious diseases to which bees are liable, most of
which are due to bacilli and yeasts or ferments, and which receive
untold assistance from inferior or fermenting food and unclean
conditions in the hive.
These, then, are two conditions against which the good bee-keeper
is always on guard. He is careful never to give fermenting honey,
or an excess of artificial pollen, when natural food is scarce, and
especially to bar unsuitable food such as beet, raw or ill-conditioned
sugar, and syrup.
He is scrupulous concerning the cleanliness of the hives, and allows
no accumulations of wax, dirt, dead bees, or the presence of decaying
matter of any kind. Most particular is he, too, to see that the roofs
are thoroughly watertight, for he knows that any leakage is bound to
engender mildew in the quilts and consequent fermentation in the combs.
He believes in prevention rather than cure, for he knows that the
conditions of bee life tend to spread disease with lightning rapidity
should it once get a hold in the hive. Its hundreds of inhabitants
confined in such a small space, each possessing air organs which
penetrate every part of its system, afford every advantage to the
spread of microbic diseases.
Should bees ever be seen vigorously fanning at the entrances to a hive
without apparent cause, it is a sure sign there is something wrong, and
examination should be made at once.
=Foul Brood.=--This is the very worst scourge to which the bees are
subject. It is a disease that attacks the brood in the cells, and, as
there are no young bees produced to take the place of those that die,
the hive is soon decimated. The disease is easily identified, for the
whole of the cells attacked are perforated and of a brown colour, and a
most offensive odour is produced.
The disease is probably spread by bees from an infected hive taking
refuge in others, or by robber bees entering the infected one. There is
nothing to do when virulent foul brood is discovered but to burn the
whole contents of the hive.
=Dysentery.=--This is a disease which principally affects the older
bees and is generally caused by feeding too heavily on pollen--more
particularly in winter time when proper exercise cannot be taken. The
symptoms are a distended abdomen, which is filled with a yellowish
brown substance that is discharged copiously. In bad cases it is
discharged on the combs.
The _best remedy_ is to add an ounce of table salt to a quart or more
of warm syrup and feed the bees outside in a sheltered spot.
=Isle of Wight Disease.=--This is one of the most mysterious and deadly
diseases which affect bees. Further, it attacks the hives in winter
when circumstances are all in its favour. Large sums of money have
been spent by bee-keepers, and a vast amount of time and thought given
by pathologists in the endeavour to trace its cause and remedy, but
hitherto without avail.
The _usual symptoms_ are similar to those of dysentery, with a loss of
power of flight. In attempting to fly, an affected bee falls to the
ground in a helpless condition.
As in dysentery, however, it is the older bees that are affected; the
brood and young bees seem immune. It would seem, therefore, that the
winter feeding on pollen has something to do with it. Probably because
pollen is more of a natural food to them, and because their air organs
are not fully developed, the disease does not affect the young bees
through that channel.
There are many so-called remedies which claim to be efficacious, but I
have no faith in them except in very mild cases. I fail to see how a
remedy can be administered when a hive is attacked in mid-winter and
the bees are clustered, or when it reaches the stage when paralysis
occurs. In such a case there is nothing to be done short of destruction.
If, however, a bee-keeper should have reason to suspect the conditions
of a hive, and it is at all possible to feed it outside, I would
recommend that the method should be tried, for no harm would be done
and possibly a certain amount of good. The food given should be
thinner than usual--to counteract the effect of the farinaceous pollen
food--and contain double the ordinary amount of salt. The hive should
be cleared of any dirt, and the floor-board washed over with a weak
solution of carbolic acid.
Should the combs become full of syrup as the result of this feeding,
take some of them out and place them near the feeder, replacing them
with empty ones.
The outside feeding encourages the bees to take exercise, which is
all to their advantage, but it is not permissible where there are
large numbers of hives in the district. In such a case a quilt of open
material must be placed over the hive instead of the several thick
ones, and inside feeding adopted.
=Chilled Brood.=--Although this cannot in every instance be accounted
a disease, yet, unless care be taken, there is no knowing where an
incipient case will end. The cause is suggested by the name— the brood
in the cells becomes chilled, and the effect is death. As a rule, when
this has happened the cappings of the cells become black, and the
appearance of an affected comb is something akin to that presented by
foul brood. Whenever a hive contains any quantity of chilled brood, the
bees should be given to another hive, and the queen, together with the
combs, destroyed, unless the hive be a very strong one. In such a case
the worst half of the combs can be removed and their space filled with
a dummy.
If new combs are added it will generally be found that it is merely to
afford facilities to the spreading of the evil. It is useless to add
bees to an affected hive, for they will immediately fly away from the
danger zone.