GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



September, 1919 



nial amount of iiollen present in nearly 

 every hive. This, he suggested, might give 

 them too much nitrogenous diet, and this 

 diet might have been in part the cause of 

 indigestion or of auto-intoxication — more 

 likely the latter. 



If the adult trouble had been due to a 

 germ disease, it seems probable that it 

 would not, according to Mr. Sturtevant, 

 have struck every hive so nearly at once 

 nor so suddenly, but probably would have 

 developed more or less from one or more dis- 

 tinct foci. 



As to sacbrood being present also, he 

 thought there was absolutely no connection 

 between that and the adult trouble, further 

 than that the sudden depopulation of the 

 colonies would so weaken them that a sec- 

 ondary disease could develop. 



This showed up markedly after the bees 

 began to die off. In Oregon there has been 

 reported a brood disease of some sort along 

 with a somewhat similar disappearing dis- 

 ease. 



Mr. Sturtevant tells the beekeepers that 

 there is no need of their melting up combs. 

 So far as is known, he said, the best thing 

 that can be done is to give young queens. 

 This is good beekeeping practice under most 

 conditions. He reijorts that at the time of 

 his visit the colonies were rapidly building 

 up, and that the beekeepers were very 

 much encouraged. 



We have since found the disappearing dis- 

 ease in other parts of the State, but in a 

 much milder form. Along with it in one 

 apiary was a case in which the honey was 

 beginning to sour under the cappings, as 

 shown by the bubbles of gas. At the same 

 time, the bees were spotting up the hives 

 with pale-yellow dysentery marks. An old 

 beekeeper, who had had souring honey in 

 his combs as a result of too much fog in 

 years gone by, made the statement that one 

 would always find bees in such cases crawl- 

 ing and dying in the grass, unable to fly; 

 that the tops of the hives would be spotted 

 with dysentery marks. This rather supports 

 Mr. Sturtevant 's theorv of intestinal trou- 

 ble. 



Not only from California but also from 

 all over the United States and parts of Can- 

 ada we continue to receive reports of a 

 so-called disease that affects the flying bees, 

 seriously cutting down their numbers and 

 materially lessening the honey crop. 

 Whether reported as Isle of Wight, paraly- 

 sis, or disappearing disease, the symptoms 

 are about the same — quantities of crawling 

 or dying bees out in front of the hives, 

 sometimes listless, sometimes extremely ac- 

 tive, with various symptoms of more or less 

 importance. 



Some autliorities whose opinions are cer- 

 tainly worth considering claim the trouble 

 is quite unimportant and not worthy our at- 

 tention; but when we learn not only of hon- 

 ey crops cut down at least a third, but also 

 of colonies (and in a few cases entire api- 

 aries) being wiped out from this cause 



(Herman Ahlers of Oregon lately reported 

 a loss of 400 colonies), we believe it worth 

 while to sit up and take notice. 



Later. — Since writing the foregoing a 

 large number of rex)orts have come in from 

 the Northwest, Oregon and Washington, 

 showing that the so-called disappearing dis- 

 ease has been getting in its work. A heavy 

 mortality has occurred in the Yakima Val- 

 ley, Washington. One beekeeper, W. H. 

 Tucker, with over 200 colonies of bees, 

 which he said yielded him an income of 

 from $45 to $50 per colony last year, reports 

 that he will have no honey for sale this 

 year and in addition he lost 80 colonies. 

 Others lost in like proportion. 



There seems to be considerable evidence 

 to show that the poison used for spraying 

 fruit trees is one of the causes. Some good 

 orchardists believe it is good policy to spray 

 several times during the season, outside of 

 the usual period of spraying just before and 

 after blooming. During a time when the 

 bees are unable to get water they will some- 

 times apjn-opriate the dews that fall on the 

 leaves of the poisoned fruit trees. In other 

 instances the poisons fall on the cover crops 

 beneath the trees. These cover crops may 

 consist of red clover or alfalfa, and if so 

 the bees will get a considerable amount of 

 the poisons that fall down under the trees; 

 and there are numerous instances to show 

 that bees are poisoned in this way. 



In Massachusetts, where the gypsy moth 

 has done so much damage on the shade 

 trees, poisonous sprays have been used to 

 hold them in check. A large number of 

 bees have been poisoned as the result of 

 these sprayings. There is now some move- 

 ment on foot in Massachusetts looking to- 

 ward putting some repellent into the spray- 

 ing liquids so the bees will not go near the 

 trees that are sprayed. Various forms of 

 sulphur and creosote have been used in the 

 spraying liquids with most excellent results. 



There are others in various parts of the 

 country who have suffered from the so-called 

 disappearing disease who say that there has 

 been no spraying of any sort in their respec- 

 tive localities, and that they are sure that 

 what they have had is the real Isle of Wight 

 — a disease and not anything due to poisons 

 nor to indigestion. 



While only good guesses can be offered, 

 the editor is coming more and more to the 

 conclusion that whatever we have in Ameri- 

 ca may be due to several causes; namely, 

 poisons, indigestion or auto intoxication, 

 and old age. 



As pointed out elsewhere in the article 

 about Harry Warren, too many beekeepers 

 fail to have a large force of young bees at 

 the time the harvest opens. When the flow 

 does start, if the colony is made up of old 

 bees they very soon die off and disappear. 



We hope our readers will keep us inform- 

 ed, giving us all the information possible; 

 and if there is any disappearing trouble, see 

 if any one is spraying or has failed to have 

 j'oung bees at the time of the harvest. 



