24 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 457 



BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE MONTANA STATE APIARIST 



1947 AND 1948 



The State Apiculture Law which was passed by the 13th 

 Legislative Assembly in 1947, has done much to stabilize the bee- 

 keeping industry in Montana. The enforcement of this law has 

 prevented honey producing areas from becoming over-stocked; 

 it has helped greatly in enforcing disease control; and it has 

 brought about a more harmonious relationship between the bee- 

 keepers of this state. 



In Lake County in 1946, the honey producing area was 

 extremely overcrowded. Even during the war years, when honey 

 was selling at a high price, the beekeepers in this area were not 

 able to make their operations pay. After the law was passed, these 

 producers called upon the State Apiculturist's office to meet with 

 them to divide this territory into productive, economic units. As a 

 result of this meeting, it was agreed that each of the different 

 producers within this area would voluntarily move their locations 

 as close as possible to their established bases of operation. Con- 

 flicting locations were abandoned and for the most part, the 

 crowded conditions were corrected. The following j^ear, honey 

 production in this area was considerably^ greater than it had been 

 in several years past and reports from that section this year 

 indicate that the 1948 crop will far exceed that of last year. In 

 this same locality in 1946, 6 percent of all of the colonies inspected 

 were diseased. This year's inspection showed that only 1.1 percent 

 of the colonies were diseased. Similar situations have been 

 observed occurring in other parts of the state. 



American foul brood is the only bee disease of economic 

 importance in Montana. After a colony has become infected, the 

 only method of controlling this disease is to burn all of the equip- 

 ment which has come in contact with the diseased bees or honey. 

 One of the main factors which makes disease control difficult is 

 the runaway swarms of bees which locate their nests in buildings, 

 trees, and other natural sites. Such colonies cannot be inspected 

 and are very susceptible to American foul brood. In the past two 

 years nearly seven hundred of these colonies have been destroyed 

 by the State Apiarist. From American foul brood control programs 

 conducted by various State and Federal agencies, it appears that 

 sulfathiazole gives the most effective results in preventing this 

 disease. It is the general belief of most workers that diseased 

 colonies should be destroyed and that the most practical use of 

 sulfathiazole is in preventing the occurrence of the disease. The 

 use of this material has made it possible to reclaim territory that 

 was previously abandoned due to the prevalence of American foul 

 brood. Colonies in the Helena Valley at one time were 85 percent 



