87 



five examined individually were of a healthy appearance; the colons were 

 not markedly congested, and contained watery material consisting almost 

 entirely of indigestible pollen residues. The abdominal parts of the 

 remaining bees were pulped, and drops of the fluid examined as offering the 

 most reliable means of detecting the presence of Nosema spores. This stock 

 remained healthy alongside the next-mentioned. 



Meanwhile there had been in the same apiary, and in close proximity to 

 this stock, an independent outbreak of Isle of Wight disease. A swarm of 

 black bees arrived from the South of England on Saturday, 11th July 1914, 

 and was duly hived. The bees began to crawl next day, and the symptoms 

 were very marked when we visited the apiary on 13th July. Then, nearly 

 half of the stock was to be seen crawling or dead upon the ground.^ 



Bees taken on this occasion were examined in Stornoway by J. A. and 

 J. E. with negative results, and stained preparations were afterwards made 

 without young stages being found. This swarm was headed by an Italian 

 queen, which had been supplied just before the stock was despatched to 

 Lewis. A little patch of brood was hatched, and the yellow bees did not 

 "crawl." The blacks were all dead in autumn and the yellows were not 

 strong enough to winter. 



Stock G9 : Nieolson Apiary. — This stock has no history of Isle of Wight 

 disease and no abnormal death-rate. A few " crawlers " have occasionally 

 been observed, but nothing to indicate disease, yet this stock is known to 

 have harboured Nosema for at least three years. The original queen was a 

 pure Ligurian imported from Bologna (apiary of Enrico Penna), in the 

 autumn of 1911. A black stock on each side of this hive (the stocks already 

 referred to as C13 and Dl) died of Isle of Wight disease during that autumn 

 and winter, but the Ligurians showed no signs of trouble. These extinct 

 stocks were replaced in 1912 by two other black stocks (D4 and H12) which 

 died out — D4 certainly, and H12 probably, from Isle of Wight disease 

 before the following winter. But still the Ligurians showed no signs of this 

 disease. 



1st September 1912 was very windy, and the hive of G9 was blown right 

 over, the combs being scattered. The bees were gathered up and the queen 

 found uninjured, but this accident handicapped the bees for getting into 

 condition for wintering. The spring of 1913 found them very weak and 

 hardly any of the young bees were able to fly. 



Examination for Nosema spores gave negative results at this stage. The 

 queen eventually ceased laying, and she was transferred to a queenless black 

 stock. In due course brood appeared, and in this case most of the young bees 

 ' Bees from this stock were used in Tolsta experiment (see p. 52). 



