164 



THE APPLE LEAF HOPPER 



Fig. 90. Foul Brood germs as 

 seen under microscope; left half 

 of circle body juices of normal 

 bee: right half, the same with the 

 disease in its early siage. Cowan. 



Symptoms of American Foul Brood: As first observed in 

 capped brood, it will be noted that the caps are more or less sunken 

 with occasional perforations. The affected larvae within are at first 

 light brown, and later, when decay has progressed, become very dark 

 brown. This decayed matter in the cells has a disagreeable odor, like 

 old glue, and is of a ropy consistency. A toothpick or match stuck 

 into this mass and then slowly drawn out takes with it some of this 



rotten matter, wJiich stretches out for 

 two inches or more. This is not a char- 

 acteristic of European Fool Brood. Fur- 

 ther, it is claimed that American Foul 

 Brood, from which western bee-keepers 

 wish to defend themselves, rarely at- 

 tacks queen or drone larv?e, while the 

 European Foul Brood will infest both. 



Fig. 89 should prove an aid in iden- 

 tifying this disease. This photo illus- 

 trates the appearance of brood comb 

 which is badly afl:"ected. Note that a 

 number of cells scattered over the comb 

 are still capped, many of them having 

 their caps perforated, and more or less flattened or sunken. Figs. 90 

 and 91 are from miscroscopic photographs, showing, very much en- 

 larged, the tiny organism which is believed to cause Foul Brood 

 as it appears in the body juices of bees. The left half of the 



circle of Fig. 90 shows the appearance 

 of body juices which are healthy; the 

 right half represents the juices in which 

 the bacterial organism is present in its 

 earlv stage. Fig. 91 left and right halves 

 show respectively the later and last 

 stages as seen under a high power of 

 the microscope. 



That this disease is caused by a 

 "germ" just as typhoid, malaria, yellow 

 fever, tuberculosis, etc., is each caused 

 by its relative germ, has been known as 

 a fact for some time. Foul Brood, like 

 the diseases above referred to, is highly infectious, easily transmitted 

 from one colony to another, either by the bee-keeper himself in hand- 

 ling a diseased colony first and then a clean colony, or by robbing, or by 



Fig. <»1. CTerms of Foul Brood 

 as seen in body juices in later 

 stages than that shown in preced- 

 ing figure. Oowan. 



