DISEASES OF BEES. 



137 



DISEASES OF BEES. 



w lien the disease is very bad in the comb w.e 

 find dead larvae in almost all .stages of 

 growth, showing all gradations of colors, 

 from a bright yellow to a deep dark brown. 

 .Jnst about as the larva dies it takes on a 

 bright yellow. This turns darker and 

 darker, showing next the color of the coffee 

 we drink with milk in it. The shade deep- 

 ens until it is of the color of strong coffee 

 without milk. At this stage the larva loses 

 its form, sinking down into a shapeless 

 mass ; and if a toothpick be introduced into 

 this mass the dead matter will adhere to it, 

 roping out some two or three inches like 

 spittle. This has given rise to the term ropy 

 foul brood, as distinguished from the type 

 known as black brood, or. as the Bureau of 

 Entomology has it. European foul brood. 



The cappings of the cells of the old-fash- 

 ioned foul brood are very apt to be sunken. 

 Somewhere over the surface there may be 

 a small hole as if it had been pricked with a 

 pin. This hole may be very minute: but as 

 it enlarges it is apt to be angular, with rag- 

 ged edges. It would appear that the bees 

 make an opening in the cells, knowing that 

 .something is wrong, and the mess within is 

 so foul that they give it up in disgust. It 

 would appear, also, that some of the bees 

 go back, tear away the opening a little more, 

 and then quit the job. By examining the 

 engraving one may see the various sizes of 

 openings in the cappings. Among the 

 sunken cells and perforated ones will be 

 found others that are perfectly normal. On 

 opening up the same we find healthy grubs 

 within. 



It is very seldom that we find all the cells 

 in a comb affected, even in an advanced 

 stage. In the one before us. probably a 

 tenth of them were in a healthy condition, 

 and from them would emerge in the course 

 of time healthy normal bees. Foul brood, 

 then, seems to attack a comb in spots. This 

 is due possibly to the fact that young larvae 

 are fed with tne pap or honey containing 

 the disease germs, and others may be acci- 

 dentally fed by other bees a food that is in 

 no way affected, and consequently they ma- 

 ture perfectly normal bees. 



When the combs are badly diseased, like 

 the one in the engraving, they will give off a 

 strong odor like that of a glue-pot. such as 

 one gets while the glue is boiling, except 

 that it is worse. The stench is almost iden- 

 tical with that which emanates from a lot 

 of dead bees piled up in a damp place in hot 

 weather. Several times our men have been 

 led to suppose there was foul brood in tlie 



yard by the peculiar odor, when examina- 

 tion showed that a lot of dead bees that had 

 died during the winter were in front of the 

 entrance. 



But we have heard bee-keepers say that 

 they do not regard the odor from foul brood 

 as so foul as the books have stated. This 

 all depends on the kind of nose one has. 

 Some odors are sickening to one, but endur- 

 able to another. This is particularly true 

 of the odor that emanates from foul brcod. 



When one finds a comb like the one shown 

 in the engraving on the preceding page the 

 colony is pretty Inidly diseased; and it is 

 also probable that other liives in the imme- 

 diate vicinity are likewise affected; because 

 when a case is so far advanced as this, the 

 probabilities are that several colonies in the 

 yard are involved; and it would be well to 

 make a general search through the apiary. 

 Colonies with entrances pointing in the 

 same direction, and near by. will be almost 

 sure to show some diseased cells. Possibly 

 one will not find more than three or four 

 affected cells, and those in only one comb, 

 for the disease has only started in that hive. 

 Sometimes one will not be able to find a 

 single cell containing a dead larva. In one 

 case, where we could plainly smell foul 

 brood, we could not find any dead specimen 

 in any cell until we had looked over tlie 

 combs for something like half an hour, 

 opening up here and there a cell, until we 

 finally located a dead larva whose tissue 

 would rope out as we have before explained. 

 But as a general thing, before there is any 

 pionounced odor a comb will be quite badly 

 diseased. In that case one is not likely to 

 notice it, even at the entrance. Something 

 will depend on the direction of the wind, if 

 any, and whether the bees are ventilating 

 the hive. 



In the foregoing we have stated that a 

 ropy condition of the dead matter was an 

 important symptom of foul brood. We may 

 say that it is the most important symptom, 

 because it is the one test by which we dis- 

 tinguish American foul brood from all other 

 brood diseases. While the dead matter of 

 European (black) brood will rope slightly, 

 perhaps i of an inch or so, the dead matter 

 of foul brood will stretch out like spittle 

 anywhere from half an inch to a couple of 

 inches. When it shows up like this, one can 

 be very sure that he has before him the real 

 foul brood. If he also finds the t>pical 

 glue-pot odor is present and the cappings of 

 the cells take on an appearance like tho.se 

 shown in the engravings, he dofs not need 



