24 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 526 



of any bee disease samples which may be sent in. At the last national 

 meeting of the American Beekeeping Federation a representative 

 of the Montana State Apiarist's Office was asked to talk to a group 

 of beekeepers on diseases of bees and their control. At this same 

 meeting the Assistant State Apiarist was appointed to act as director 

 for the northwestern United States area of the organization known as 

 "Apiary Inspectors of America." 



Recommendations have been set up and distributed to all reg- 

 istered beekeepers in Montana for a modern program of honey house 

 sanitation. 



For the past 4 or 5 years the problem of spraying both with 

 insecticides and herbicides has become increasingly difficult for the 

 beekeeper. During the past year at least 500 colonies were reported 

 to the state office as being either partially or completely knocked 

 out by indiscriminate spray poisoning. Recommendations have been 

 made on proper sprays and amounts to use and on proper time of 

 application, but considerable work remains to be done before a com- 

 plete solution is found for the spray poisoning problem. 



During the year 1955 approximately 3,700 colonies were inspected. 

 Approximately 1.4 percent of these showed disease and were destroyed. 



During the calendar year 1956, which is not complete at time of 

 writing, approximately 3,200 colonies have been inspected and have 

 shown a disease incidence of 2.4 percent. Most of the diseased 

 colonies were found in two yards, and they have been destroyed. 

 Commitments have been made to inspect about 1,000 more colonies 

 during the remainder of this season. 



