304 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



- Dysentery. 



Dysentery is not a disease, but is the result of prolonged retention of the 

 feces by the bees during the winter months. This results in the production 

 of an irritation in the intestines of the adult bee with the result that the 

 feces which can no longer be held are voided within the hive. Evidence of 

 dysentery is found in the spotting of the frames and interior of the hive and 

 entrance. Colonies suffering from dysentery usually begin brood-rearing 

 earlier than normal in the spring, and as a result lessen instead of improve 

 the chance of recovery. Dysentery is very likely to produce the disorder 

 referred to as spring dwindling. 



Spring Dwindling. 



Spring Dwindling has doubtless been used to indicate various disorders. 

 The term as it is commonly used by beekeepers refers to the condition of a 

 colony in the spring in which the number of bees very rapidly diminishes. 

 This is usually the result of the death of those bees which have worn them- 

 selves out in the process of maintaining the cluster temperature during the 

 winter. Colonies without sufficient packing during the winter, and espec- 

 ially colonies composed of a majority of old bees the fall before, are especially 

 likely to appear in this condition. This disorder is not a disease but a con- 

 dition of the colony which can largely be prevented by the beekeepers who 

 take proper precautions in the preparation of the colony for winter. 



Paralysis. 



The disorder referred to by beekeepers as paralysis or Disappearing Dis- 

 ease or Palsy is little understood. The disease may suddenly attack every 

 colony in an apiary. Affected bees will be observed on the grass in front of 

 the hive and throughout the apiary in distorted jDOsitions, some crawling 

 upon a blade of grass and attempting to fly; others fanning feebly. Still 

 others will rear themselves on their fore legs and mandibles, fanning, while 

 others will be found crawling on the grass with abdomen pulsating rapidly, 

 which has given rise to the term Palsy. The disease may appear throughout 

 the apiary one day and be gone completely the next, or it may remain in 

 the apiary several days or longer. In some apiaries a few colonies are af- 

 fected throughout the season, whereas all others appear to be healthy. The 

 disease may reappear after it has once left the apiary. The irregularity of 

 its behavior has given rise to the term "Disappearing Disease." It is prob- 

 able that more than one disorder is indicated by the term Paralysis, but actual 

 proof of this is lacking. The cause of the disease is not loiown, and no known 

 treatment is satisfactory. The most serious effect of the disease is to so 

 weaken the colonies affected as to prevent the storing of surplus. Apparatus 

 from colonies which have been killed by the disease can apparently be used 

 for healthy colonies without reinfection. 



Isle of Wight Disease. 



Isle of Wight Disease is a disease of adult bees which causes serious losses 

 in England and neighboring territory. Usually the symptoms are similar 

 to those of nosema disease, although it is very_ likely that the two diseases 



