PREUSS, OCTOBER 1, 1868. 15 



comes foul. From this condition, this author stated, no danger is 

 to be feared, as the bees afterward remove all this dead brood, leav- 

 ing the colony free from danger. The cause of the virulent form of 

 foul brood is attributed by Molitor-Miililfeld to a small parasitic 

 ichneumon lly, reddish-yellow in color and scarcely one-sLxth of an 

 an inch long, to which he gave the name Ichneumon apium melliji- 

 cofium. He \mtes that this fly had already been observed about 

 foul-brood colonies by another writer, but that it was thought to be 

 a carrion fly. Concerning the life history of these flies, he says that 

 they press into the hives and lay their eggs in tlie bee larvae. The 

 larv5T3 live in spite of this until the cell is capped and the cocoon is 

 spun. During this time the fly larvae feed upon the fat of the bee 

 larva?, and finally bore their way out of the body into the cell, undergo 

 metamorphosis, and in a few days escape from the cells through 

 openings which they make in the center of the cell-capping. These 

 3"oung adult flies now mate, sting other bee larva^, lay their eggs, and 

 continue the cycle. The time which elapses from the egg of this 

 parasitic insect to the adult is given as about from 10 to 12 days. 

 Tliis, to liis mind, explained the rapid increase of the exciting cause 

 of foul brood. As a result of the parasitic existence of this ^y in the 

 bee larvae, these larvae die and change into a ropy, sticky, ill-smeUing 

 mass whicli the bees can not remove. 



Furthermore, he argues that if instead of the diseased larvffi dying, 

 as they do, after capping, they should die before tliis stage was 

 reached, then the dead bodies would be removed early and \^'ith them 

 the larvffi of the fl}"; but since the brood is always capped before death 

 takes place the capped cells afford a protection for the parasitic 

 insect until it becomes an adult ready to emerge. 



In making a diagnosis, it is stated, the cell-cappings should be 

 examined, and if they are punctured then the disease is positively 

 the infectious foul brood. As a treatment for the infestation of the 

 brood by this insect in a colon}" in which infectious foul brood already 

 exists, it is recommended that the combs be removed to a clean hive 

 \\'ith new foundation, and that the treated colonies and other colonies 

 in the apiary be protected by pouring at frequent intervals camphor 

 dissolved in oil of turpentine, between the hives in the yard and also 

 sometimes on the alighting boards. This is done to prevent, by the 

 odor of the turpentine and tlie camphor, the entrance of the ichneumou 

 fly into the hives. 



Preuss, October 1, 1868. 



In a paper written by Preuss,^ in. 1868, his views on the causes of 

 foul brood are given. The distinction which he would make between 



I Preuss, Dr., October 1, 1808. Das Wesen der bosartigen Faulbrut besteht in einem mikroskopLschen 

 Pilzc, Cryptococcus alvcaris. Sie kann verhutet und geheilt werden. Eichstidt Bienenzeitung, 24 Jatirg., 

 Nro. 19 U. 20, pp. 225-228. 



