Paralysis

Cause

Paralysis of adult honey bees is a condition brought about by filterable viruses and by poisonous plants. The "paralysis" discussed here refers to the disease caused by the chronic, bee-paralysis virus.

Effect

Colonies can be affected by paralysis during the entire bee season. However, paralysis is more commonly found in warm climates. The disease affects only a small percentage of the bees. In severe cases, honey production of a colony can be seriously reduced by this virus. It is rare for colonies to be destroyed by paralysis disease.

Symptoms

Bees affected by the disease are usually found on the top bars of the combs. Individual bees tremble uncontrollably and are unable to fly. (Sick bees are sometimes attacked by healthy bees. When this condition is serious, large numbers of bees can be found crawling out of the colony entrance. ) Bees with this condition are often hairless and have no control of their wings and legs. Abdomens of affected bees may be dark, shiny, or greasy.

Spread

How the virus is transmitted from bee to bee is not known. The paralysis virus is endemic in some colonies and the disease recurs each year in a small percentage of the bee population.

Control

No chemical agent for the control of paralysis is available. Infected colonies seem able to cope with the disease without medication. The offspring of some queens appear to be more susceptible than others. Consequently, requeening of affected colonies is often effective in eliminating paralysis.

Septicemia

Septicemia is rarely considered a serious disease. Little is known about the bacterium, Pseudomonas apiseptica, that infects the bees.

Bees that die from septicemia often have a putrid odor. The muscles of the thorax decay rapidly and the body, legs, wings, and antennae fall apart when handled.

No control measure is known for this disease. The colony usually recovers spontaneously from septicemia.

Amoeba Disease

Amoeba disease is rarely found in honey bee colonies. Losses from this disease are minor except when it is found in combination with other adult diseases.

Diagnosis of this disease requires examination with a microscope. Only the cyst stage of the pathogen Malphighamoeba mellificae is known. The disease is believed to be transmitted through the feces.

There is no known treatment for amoeba disease. Colonies are seldom if ever destroyed by this disease.

Bee-Louse

Braula coeca, commonly known as the "bee-louse, " is not a louse, but a highly specialized parasitic fly, belonging to the order Diptera. Braula coeca adults are wingless and incapable of flight.

The tunnels made by the bee-louse's larvae in the honey combs destroy the market value of the comb.

The bee-louse can usually be found singly or in great numbers on the bee's thorax and mouth. It literally takes food out the mouth of the honey bee.

The bee-louse is found in limited geographical areas. It has been seen in Maryland and Virginia. No effective treatment is available for infestation by the bee-louse.

Acarine Disease

Acarine disease is not present in the United States. This disease causes serious losses of adult bees in Europe, and to some degree in South America and India. For this reason, the importation of live adult honey bees into the United States, except from Canada, is prohibited by Federal law. No chemical agent is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use against acarine disease.