HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE CAUSES OF BEE DISEASES. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Bee keepers, as a rule, manifest a keen desire to know about the 

 causes of bee diseases and they show a hvely interest in the investiga- 

 tions leading to the determination of the causes. This is gratifying 

 to those working on these diseases and will be a great benefit to 

 the apiarist who must treat tlie diseases. The losses to apiculture 

 from diseases are enormous, and inasmuch as the successful treat- 

 ment of a disease depends largely upon a knowledge of the cause of 

 the disease to be treated it behooves every owner of an apiary to 

 become as familiar as possible with the causes of bee diseases. 



The facts that are known about the causes of bee diseases unfor- 

 tunately are altogether too few. As this can be said of all diseases 

 affecting the animal kingdom, the bee keeper has no cause for despair. 

 An attempt, however, will be made in this bulletin to furnish data 

 from which the bee keeper may be able to inform himself concerning 

 the facts tliat are really known about the causes of bee diseases. 



In this introduction it might be well to classify the bee diseases as 

 the writers of this bulletin understand them. Bee diseases can be 

 conveniently classified under those affecting the brood and those affect- 

 ing the adult bee. The most important brood diseases are American 

 foul brood, European foul brood, and the so-called ''pickled brood." 

 The disorders affecting adult bees that are of most importance are 

 being referred to at present under the names of paralysis, dysentery, 

 and Isle of Wight disease. 



American foul hrood. — American foul brood is a very widely dis- 

 tributed disease and better known to bee keepers than European foul 

 brood. It is the one which is generally referred to by the bee keeper 

 at the present time when ho speaks of "foul brood." The brood 

 affected with this disease is usually capped before it dies. The 

 color of the dead brood presents in general various shades of brown. 

 The marked ropiness of the decaying remains of tlie dead larva) is 

 probably the most characteristic and well-known feature of the dis- 

 ease. The punctured cappings, the scales formed from dried-down 

 larvae, and the disagreeable odor sometimes present are aids to its 

 diagnosis. This disease is clearly an infectious one. The exciting 

 cause of it is a bacterium known as Bacillus larvse. 



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