680 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



4. Robber bees, getting honey from infected combs — greatest danger. 



5 Buying queen bees from infected apiaries. To be perfectly safe 

 in this deal, on arrival of queen place her alone in a clean queen cage 

 with plenty of good honey. Introduce her in this last cage and burn 

 the just received cage and attendant bees and no evil results, even from 

 such queens out of infected hives. 



EXPERIMENTS. 



Experiments — 1. A Wisconsin beekeeper had foul brood among his 

 bees so bad that he lost 200 colonies with it before cured. Having an 

 extractor, wax press, etc., at home, he placed the bees in boxes while 

 he boiled the hives, extracted the honey from all the combs and boiled 

 the honey, also all combs making beeswax into comb foundation. He 

 then placed the bees in their same hives on foundation made from in- 

 fected combs, and fed the infected BOILED honey. Ten years has passed 

 and no signs of disease there since. 



(2) Dried Scales — If the disease has reached advanced stages all of 

 any danger of disease. To prove this I took a quantity of badly in- 

 fected combs, rendered the wax myself, and had two of the extensive 

 manufacturers of' comb foundation make into foundation this lot of wax. 

 Then selected twenty of the best apiaries in Wisconsin, where no disease 

 ever was known, and in sixty-two colonies placed this foundation. Five 

 years have passed and no signs of disease in any of those hives. 



(3) Honey or wax from a sun heat extractor is not safe to use until 

 same is boiled. 



SYMPTOMS OF FOXJL BROOD. 



(1) Brood in combs badly scattered, many empty cells, cappings dark 

 and sunken, some with holes in cappings, part of the brood hatching while 

 others are dead. The dead larvae of a dark brown color, or blackish, ac- 

 cording to age. The lightest colored will upon inserting a toothpick draw 

 out much like rubber or glue and at that stage has most odor, much like 

 stale glue when warm. 



(2) Dried Scales — If the disease has reached advanced stages all of 

 above conditions will be easily seen. According to its age of development 

 there will be either the shapeless mass of dark brown matter on the 

 lower side wall of the cell or the dried scale. This scale nearly black 

 and dried hard to wall of comb as thin as side wall of the cell. The head 

 of the bee often dies in a small bunch and turned up some. In size, 

 about half size of pin head. 



HOW TO DETECT FOTIL BBOOD. 



Take out carefully the oldest hatching brood in the hive and first see 

 if the cappings are smooth or sunken and scattered, with some having 

 small holes in the cappings. This is more noticeable in old black combs. 

 Now bring the brood comb right side up to the level of your chin, tip the 

 top of the comb towards you so your view strikes the lower walls of 

 brood cells about one-third distance from front. Next turn your body so 

 that bright cTaylight comes over your shoulder and shines in each cell 

 where your view of suspected disease is found. Gas or electric light will 

 not take the place of sunshine or strong daylight. 



