100 



THE BEJbi-KEEPERS' REVIJlw. 



paralysis among Italian bees, during my 

 superintendence of the apiary of Mr. Paul 

 L. Vialloii, of Bayou Goula, La., in 1881. 

 The only colony affected was albino. The 

 course of nature in establishing the albino 

 types of bees, of animals and men, is suffi- 

 ciently well understood to partially substan- 

 tiate my views relating to in-breeding and 

 its subsequent results. But I have observed 

 it in some instances among black bees where 

 an apiary had been extensively built up from 

 a few original colonies in an isolated loca- 

 tion ; and investigation proved it to have 

 been first contracted by those colonies near- 

 est akin to the original mother stocks. This 

 fact would illustrate that in-breeding was 

 the primary cause of bee paralysis ; and from 

 the reason that it is now most prevalent in 

 apiaries where bees are bred with largely 

 less provision to protect them from the de- 

 vitalizing effects of in-breediug than nature 

 has ordained, we have further cause to sup- 

 pose that this is the fundamental source of 

 this new disease. 



It is spoken of as a new disease, but it has 

 always existed. I observed and studied its 

 appearance in the first season of my bee- 

 keeping experience, and found the cause, as 

 I find it now, to be primarily attributable to 

 too close relations — or relationship — of 

 parentage. 



Numerous bee-keepers have Italianized 

 their apiaries from too few, or too nearly re- 

 lated mother bees. The latter might occur 

 in spite af any precaution that would be 

 taken, though these precautious would gen- 

 erally be a guarantee of a perfect infusion 

 of vigorous prenatal influences. Bees 

 breed-in naturally to some extent, but it is 

 evident that by the management of man 

 they have more often been exposed to its ef- 

 fects. 



Science affirms that the bee existed previ- 

 ous to the era of man ; that its organism 

 was developed and fixed in a region where 

 the flora yielded continual forage, and dur- 

 ing an epoch when succeeding daughters 

 of a lineage led forth successive colonies of 

 the generations of apis to populate such 

 homes as nature should provide. 



Alluding to the well known fact that a 

 queen is at her best about the time she has 

 maternally repopulated a colony of which 

 she is a natural inmate, and that her bees at 

 this time are more vigorous, and the make- 

 up of the colony more perfect than at any 

 other time, except, perhaps, during the 



building-up season of spring, and that the 

 colonies of " late season " queens are like- 

 wise most vigorous and profitable the ensu- 

 ing year, I would suggest that, as a precau- 

 tion against debility and degeneration, it 

 might be advisable for queen breeders to 

 breed queens for their stock hives for each 

 succeeding season's service, to a descent as 

 far removed as possible from each preceed- 

 ing season's anterior generations. 



Now I do not consider that in-breeding 

 would occasion bee paralysis to any marked 

 extent without other predisposing causes. 

 I observe that it usually exists in regions 

 well defined and of similar characteristics 

 concerning climate, soil, and vegetation ; 

 therefore, I think that atmospheric influ- 

 ences, and deleterious stores of food, largely 

 conducive to its prevalence. 



During the season (188r>) I was engaged in 

 business at Beulah, Miss., there occurred 

 in the apiary perhaps fifty cases of bee paral- 

 ysis. Most of the colonies, however, were 

 only slightly affected. After fully consider- 

 ing the abject appearance of the diseased 

 bees I concluded that the indications were 

 symptoms of malaria. And finding, since, 

 that the malady exists principally in malarial 

 regions, I conceive no reasons for changing 

 my views. 



The first colony affected was removed 

 from the stand and placed upon the ground. 

 This colony became considerably weakened 

 by losing bees for artificial increase, and 

 the disease soon appeared. The hive was 

 one of a row facing a slough, and all the col- 

 onies in this row of hives suft'ered more than 

 those in several rows immediately in the 

 rear, but elevated upon stands. Colonies 

 placed in a depression of the yard were more 

 subject to disease than those on the elevated 

 ground, though there was not more than six 

 or eight feet variance in its level. Colonies 

 exposed to the sun were also more liable to 

 ill health than those well shaded. Indeed 

 none of the colonies under sheds, or in the 

 houses, showed any signs of disease, neither 

 was any of the honey fermented in the hives. 

 This apiary was of black bees, and had been 

 increased from three original colonies to 

 fifty or more in three seasons, by natural 

 swarming. When increased to 12o in the 

 month of May, bee paralysis appeared soon 

 after. 



For treatment I removed those colonies in 

 the sun to the shade of trees or sheds ; ele- 

 vated those upon the ground to stands and 



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