ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



161 



will get the odor when the larvae is 

 half decayed. 



Mr. Wheeler — I have held to the point 

 for a good many years: That I be- 

 lieve the colony was diseased long be- 

 fore human e5'es or sense could detect 

 it. I believe the bees claen out and 

 destroy for a long time before you see 

 the symptoms of the disease; I think 

 it is when they have begun to give up, 

 like the human system gives up to cer- 

 tain diseases — w^hen they begin to find 

 the operation of resisting it so strong 

 they give up — then you begin to de- 

 tect those cells. I have never seen 

 anything that made me believe any- 

 thing different yet. I think the disease 

 is lurking there a long time before 

 there are any pin holes in the brood. 



Mr. Miller — I would like to ask: 

 How long it takes, from the time you 

 first notice the symptoms, to develop 

 until that colony begins to go down 

 hill. Or in other words: How long 

 the disease usually runs, one or two 

 years, or six months or six days? 



President France — According to the 

 individual who is taking care of it; 

 it varies. 



Mr. Miller — I mean, run its natural 

 course in the colonj^? 



President France — It would develop 

 if the season was not over good foi 

 honey crop; that makes a difference; 

 and you might get rid of the disease in 

 the course of the season; with a good 

 bee-keeper, he notices conditions in 

 time and takes care of it quickly. 



Mr. Stewart — I would like to ask: 

 How long, from the time the larval bee 

 dies, until this characteristic ropiness 

 is evident or pronounced enough to 

 distinguish? Is there any possibility of 

 one being confused as to that distinc- 

 tion, in the early stages? If one is 

 working for comb honey, going through 

 the hives from week to week and cut- 

 ting out cells, and notices dead brood, 

 is there any possibility as to one be- 

 ing mistaken as to whether it is Amer- 

 ican foul brood, if you depend on the 

 test of ropiness? 



Mr. Kannenberg — I had an experi- 

 ence in a case that way. I found that 

 when you have a hive where the brood 

 is coming out and you watch it close, 

 those that the brood is not coming out, 

 you open those cells; it is ropy al- 

 ready. 



It takes twenty-one days for the 



—11 



bees to mature and when the bees ma- 

 ture that other that is foul brood is 

 gone into ropiness. I think every- 

 body, who opens a cell then, will 

 find it is ropy. It rotted away in 

 twenty-one days. 



Mr. Bull — The idea is this. As soon 

 as the capping of the cell shows any 

 indication of disease there will be 

 ropiness there;' when there is the 

 slightest indication of disease on that 

 capping. I don't remember seeing any 

 disease, but that it is sealed over first. 



Mr. Kildow — Not always. 



Doctor Phillips — In the early stages, 

 almost always. There may be a case 

 occasionally, but very rare^ 



Mr. Coppin — I found brood in the 

 hive lots of times, dead, without being 

 sealed, and others sealed and little pin 

 holes in the cappings and ropiness 

 there; and at the same time there 

 were other dead bees not sealed. 



President France — It formerly was 

 sealed and the bees are trying to re- 

 move the capping. I question if the 

 bees can remove dried down Ameri- 

 can foul brood, but they will remove 

 the capping. So we may see many 

 cells apparently w'ithout any capping 

 on. 



Mr. Wheeler — Don't you think they 

 have removed that brood? 



President France — Not if dried down. 



Mr. Kannenberg — I think I had the 

 same experience and the bees had not 

 removed this foul brood because it is 

 dried down so solid they cannot re- 

 move it; they lay eggs right in it and 

 have foul brood over again. 



Mr. Kildow — After it is dried down, 

 they can't remove it, but, before it is 

 dried down, they don't want to get hold 

 of it. 



The bees w'ill back away from it; if 

 you punch one in with a tooth pick 

 and after it is dried down, it is very 

 much like glue on wood. I believe it 

 is impossible for the bees to remove 

 it; when it is rop3% they won't get 

 into it. 



Mr. Brinkerhoff — I would like to ask 

 Doctor Phillips if he knows what its 

 period of incubation is. 



Doctor Phillips — It is very variable. 



Mt. Wheeler — I don't think you can 

 tell by that scattered brood test. A 

 great many old queens will scatter 

 their brood through the cells that are 



