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THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



April 



BEE PARALYSIS. 



A Very Instructive Discussion of the 

 Subject. Dictated by Experience. 



BV O. O. POPIT.ETOX. 



I PROMISED some time ago that as 

 soon as I knew the result of certain 

 experiments not then finished, I 

 would write out some of my experiences 

 with bee paralysis in my apiary. 



The disease is more widespread and 

 serious than most bee-keepers realize. 

 Twice within the last twenty years it 

 has lessened the season's receipts from 

 my apiary over twenty-five per cent., 

 entailing a loss of about fifteen thousand 

 pounds of honey and quite a number of 

 colonies of bees. There is more or less 

 of it every year. 



The disease itself is exceedingly er- 

 ratic — comes and goes withput any 

 apparent cause, and without strictly 

 following any rules. Colonies in perfect 

 health will sometimes be attacked sud- 

 denly, and in a very short time be re- 

 duced to a nucleus. At otiier times a 

 diseased colony will suddenly recover 

 without any known cause. For this 

 reason no rule can be made by experi- 

 ments with any one or even a few col- 

 onie.s. And now. after a personal expe- 

 rience with over two hundred diseased 

 cdlonies. I more than ever realize how lit- 

 tle we really know of the nature, causes, 

 prevention or cure of the disease. While 

 I am satisfied that it is to a limited extent 

 contagious. I do not know exactly how 

 the contagion is communicated. 'Vhile 

 in Washington, just after the Philadel- 

 phia Convention, Mr. Benton introduced 

 nio to Dr. Howard. United States Entom- 

 ologist, and I iiad a short talk with him 

 about his division making a scientific 

 investigation of the disease. He asked 

 me to call on him in his ofHce and t;ilk 

 tlie matter over ; but when I diil so he 

 was out. I was disappointed, as I hoped 

 througji liim to get some real, ilelinite 

 knowicilgc (if tlie disease iiud Iiow to 

 fight it. I slill liope that some practical 

 scientist will do this woik for us. 



I have not yet learned how the con- 

 tagion, if any, is communicated, but I 

 think through dead or diseased bees 

 only. Last season I made some experi- 

 ments to learn whether combs, honey or 

 brood carried it, by taking away all the 

 brood from what diseased colonies I 

 had and giving them to certain nuclei. 

 I built up six nuclei by giving them 

 brood from diseased colonies, und so far 

 (nearly a year afterwards) only one of 

 these six colonies has shown any signs 

 of the disease. 



As several other colonies have taken 

 the disease this spring, it is not very 

 likely that this one took it because of 

 these combs of brood and honey. That 

 five out of six failed to take the disease 

 after nearly a year has passed looks as 

 though it'will be safe to use all combs of 

 either honey or brood. This simplifies 

 the problem of what to do with diseased 

 colonies and saves the loss of combs and 

 brood as in cases of foul-brood. 



Several years ago nearly or quite one- 

 third of my apiary was diseased and the 

 prospect was that I might have to aban- 

 don bee-keeping because of it. after near- 

 ly half of t'jc diseased colonies had died. 

 Experinjenting with all the methods 

 of cure I could hear of. the use of sul- 

 phur proved the only method of any 

 value. This I ap])lied to threes or four 

 colonies at a time, then in a few days to 

 a few more. Then, after an interval to 

 more and so on, until all had been 

 treated. The result was the entire cure 

 of each colony treated iu tlu' ordei' of 

 theii' treatment, while not a colony in 

 the yard recovered until a ciiiaiu time 

 after treatment, showing conclusively 

 that it was the treatment which affected 

 tlie cure. 1 have used the same method 

 nu)re or less since then, hut not to so 

 great an extent. Out of some forty or 

 lifty altogether which I have treated, 

 all were cured by one treatment excei)t 

 three, whicli ie(piired a second oneeach. 

 .\s main liave rei'orted t'ailun's iu ti'eat- 

 ing diseased colonies witli sulphur, it 

 looks as though they must havi' misap- 



