ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF BEES 177 



and they die in the cells. It always attacks, to a 

 lesser extent, the adult bee; but these leave the hive 

 to die and are not such a dangerous source of in- 

 fection as are the decaying larvae. Infected honey 

 is the medium by which the disease is ordinarily 

 spread from hive to hive. Undoubtedly robbing is to 

 a great extent responsible for its prevalence. 



HOW TO DETECT FOUL BROOD 



The brood appears in irregular patches and it 

 does not all hatch; the caps to the brood cells may 

 be sunken and broken at the centre, the holes being 

 irregular, instead of the neat circular perforations 

 which may be found above the healthy larvae. 

 The sure test of the presence of the disease is found 

 in the dead body of the larva, which is dark and 

 discoloured; and if a toothpick or pin be thrust into 

 it and then drawn back, the body contents will adhere 

 to it in a stringy mass, to the extent of a half or even 

 an entire inch, as if it were mucous or glue; later the 

 bodies of the larvae dry and appear as black scales in 

 the cell bottoms. Another evidence of the presence 

 of the disease is a peculiarly disagreeable odour 

 which permeates the hive, which Mr. Root likens to 

 that of a glue pot. 



Remedies. — ^These have been worked out by 

 many bee-keepers, notably by Mr. William McEvoy, 

 inspector of bees in Ontario, Canada. His remedy 

 is as follows: When there is a good honey flow 

 so the bees will not suffer, all the comb is taken from 

 the infected colony and frames with foundation- 



