Diseases Of Bees

Bees have infectious diseases the same as animals and chickens. American and European Foul Brood are the two important diseases for the beekeeper to be concerned about as they are scattered from hive to hive and may kill out an entire bee yard within a year or two unless steps are taken to stop their ravages.

We will consider both of these diseases together because it is difficult even for experienced beekeepers to distinguish certain stages, as it now takes a microscopic examination to be sure which is which. The disease is spread by robbing and the drifting of bees from one colony to another.

Foul Brood is a disease of the brood and does not attack the adult bees. American Foul Brood gives off a rotten odor and hence the name "foul". Healthy larva is plump and pearly white in color while infected larva loses its plumpness and turns to a light cream and then to yellow or yellowish-green and finally to a dark brown. As the larva gets darker it shrinks up and finally dries up with the tongues of many of the older larvae sticking straight up.

In the later stages of decay the larva with European Foul Brood may become thick and ropey, but not stringy, and when dried up the scales will be loose in the cells and easily removed. With American Foul Brood the decayed larva will become thick and ropey, and will form a string several inches long when stretched out of the cell with a match giving off a rotten odor.

The dried up larva of American Foul Brood will stick tight to the bottom of the cells.

Probably the first indications of the presence of these diseases will not be the sick and decaying larva, but sunken and punctured cappings on the brood cells (as pictured, compared to plump cappings on the healthy brood cells) and a very scattered pattern of brood.

Keep in mind that scattered brood may be caused by a crippled or a failing queen so look closely at the larva for a sickly yellow or pale green color.

The best thing to do, of course, is to feed your bees drugs as a preventative so that they do not become infected with the disease, but if any colonies are infected, burn up any badly infected combs along with their frames as it is not profitable to take the time and effort to have the bees clean them up, although it is possible to do so. Replace the destroyed combs with drawn combs or full sheets of comb foundation. Then requeen all infected colonies, feeding sugar syrup to any colonies that are not very strong, until the hives are boiling over with bees and treat with drugs as follows:

The Drug Treatment

The beginner does not need to fear Foul Brood because it is no longer necessary to burn up the infected hives (although this is still required in some states). Formerly we recommended dissolving one. 5 gram tablet of sulfathiazole or 1/4 teaspoonful of powdered sodium sulfathiazole to each gallon of sugar syrup feed and feeding one gallon to each hive in the early spring and another gallon in the late fall, at the end of the honey flow, as a preventative, and this is still our recommendation for a preventative of American Foul Brood. This syrup feeding is a good practice and will pay good returns.

This is a close up view of a badly diseased comb showing the punctured cappings and the diseased larva in various stages.

This is a close up view of a badly diseased comb showing the punctured cappings and the diseased larva in various stages.

This is the same comb as pictured above three months after the sulfa treatment began. There is now no sign of disease and the brood is healthy and nearly solid.

This is the same comb as pictured above three months after the sulfa treatment began. There is now no sign of disease and the brood is healthy and nearly solid.

However, as European Foul Brood becomes more virulent and widespread, you should take preventative measures against it at the same time you treat against American Foul Brood. Because Terramycin, which is the cure for European Foul Brood, deteriorates rapidly in a liquid solution, it is best to feed it mixed with powdered sugar to give it volume and make it attractive to the bees. Inasmuch as Terramycin and powdered sulfa can safely be combined with the powdered sugar mixture, it is well to combine them in one feeding.

Commercial beekeepers will find it much quicker and easier to mix and feed the treated powdered sugar because there are no feeders to buy or bother with, no problem of transporting the heavy syrup and it is an all-around faster and quicker operation. Then too, when there is a honey flow on, the bees may not touch the feeders while with the powder they walk in it, and so must distribute it.

The recommended formula in 1958 when this book was published was as follows:

1 part terramycin 1 part sulfathiazole 12 parts powdered sugar

Inasmuch as this is a fast-changing world and as books are published only at infrequent intervals, it will be well to follow the directions received with your drugs in later years.

Be sure to mix the powder thoroughly. If you have a quantity of this powder to mix, take your wife's flour sifter (keeping it only for this purpose) and buy her a new one.

The recommended dosage in 1958 was one heaping tablespoonful of the above mixture, both as a preventative and a cure, scattered over-the brood nest, on the top bars and between combs. Applications should start as early in the spring as it is warm enough to enter the hives and continued every 10 days or 2 weeks until the honey flow starts.

This shows mice damage to a brood comb. Slip the entrance reducer in the hive entrance after the first killing frost and bore a top entrance for ventilation.

This shows mice damage to a brood comb. Slip the entrance reducer in the hive entrance after the first killing frost and bore a top entrance for ventilation.

CAUTION. Before the second and following applications be sure that the bees have several days of flight to collect nectar and pollen because if this mixture is fed continuously to confined bees, it may kill the old bees as well as the brood.

While it may be possible to buy these drugs from your local drug store, the price normally will be very much higher than from your bee supply factory, and of course the drug stores know nothing about formulas for curing bee diseases.