666 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Nov. i 



W^ 



K/ 



% 



kA 



FIG. 2— A LENGTHWISE SECTIONAL VIEW.OF,THE MIDDLE IN 

 TESTINE OF A DISEASED BEE MAGNIFIED ABOUT 300 TIMES. 

 Sp., nosema spores in the intestinal cells; k, portion of intestine 

 destroyed by the disease, which will be carried out with the ex- 

 crement. 



that almost nothing of the intestinal structure 

 is left — see Fig. 2. 



As the disease develops in the bee there 

 appears a discoloration of t!.e affected mem- 

 brane. A healthy bee's intestine is semi- 

 transparent and flesh-colored; that of an af- 

 fected or diseased bee becomes and remains 

 milky white and opaque. The discoloration 

 or change is a sure sign of the disease, and 

 may be observed without the assistance of 

 the microscope. 



The voidings of such diseased bees contain 

 countless numbers of nosema spores; and 

 when these become mixed with the food or 

 the drinking-water of bees, infection is at 

 once secured. There is no help for an in- 

 fected bee — it must die. Of 25 cases of dy- 

 sentery, Dr. Zander found 22 as the result of 

 nosema infection. No bee examined was 

 found without some parasites. 



Dr. Zander admits that dysentery may re- 

 sult from other causes, such as disturbance, 

 poor food, etc., but claims that these cases 

 are rather the exception. That kind of the 

 disease he names as the harmless dysentery. 

 The voidings in that case are of a coarse 

 granular nature, and possess an acid or sour 

 odor. Mixed and ground together with wa- 

 ter they form a yellowish paste which con- 

 tains practically only pollen. This kind of 

 dysentery disappears as soon as the inciting 

 causes are removed or conditions change. 



The malignant and contagious dysentery 

 produced by Nosema apis is easily transfer- 

 red to other bees; for instance, by voidings 

 of diseased bees dropping into the drinking- 

 water of other bees, or coming in contact 

 with their food, befouling the combs; also 



by uniting diseased with 

 healthy colonies. With the 

 microscope the presence of 

 nosema spores is easily prov- 

 en. 



The May disease, alias 

 spring dwindling, is another 

 form of the nosema disease. 

 During the summer, quanti- 

 ties of bees die from infec- 

 tion with Nosema apis. In 

 May and June many thou- 

 sands fall a prey to the deadly 

 parasite. 



As most conclusive must 

 we view Dr. Zander's infec- 

 tion experiments. Bees that 

 died with the disease, and 

 their excrements, were 

 ground together with dilut- 

 ed honey. The strained 

 product was then given to a 

 normal colony in two artifi- 

 cially filled combs. The bees 

 appropriated the mixture at 

 once, and after three days 

 they began dying in large 

 numbers. The microscope 

 proved the infection. After 

 a rainy day the dying ap- 

 peared most pronounced. 

 Infected and confined col- 

 onies showed the disease and befouled hive 

 and combs on the fifth day. The bodies of 

 the dead bees showed swollen abdomens. 

 The excrements of the bees were watery and 

 dirty yellow. Even the queens are affected 

 by the nosema disease, and die. This ex- 

 plains why colonies afflicted with this dys- 

 entery usually become queenless. A cure 

 of diseased bees is altogether out of the 

 question; but we may succeed in preventing 

 the infection of other colonies by disposing 

 of diseased hives, combs, etc. The renewal 

 of the comb is an admirable means of pre- 

 venting the spread of the disease, and is to 

 be recommended. Old combs are a great 

 source of danger. 



The honey of diseased colonies should by 

 no means be given to other hives. 



As Dr. Zander, as shown in the above, has 

 discovered and made known to the public 

 the nature of the two diseases, dysentery 

 and spring dwindling, we undoubtedly shall, 

 ere long, find ways and means to stay them. 

 The bee-keepers of the world are certainly 

 greatly indebted to Dr. Zander for his untir- 

 ing efforts in behalf of the bee-keeping pur- 

 suit. 

 Vienna, Austria, Aug. 25, 1909. 



A NEW CAPPING-MELTER. 



BY J. W. GEORGE. 



I am sending a drawing of my capping- 

 melter, the first one of which I made in 

 April, 1906. I have been using them and im- 

 proving them every season since, and have 

 melted the cappings from more than a ton of 



