BEE DISEASES IN MASSACHUSETTS, 



5 



was formerly known as " black brood." Its presence is less easily 

 diagnosed bv superficial examination than is American fonl brood. 

 It is described by Doctor Phillips « as follows: 



Tliis disease attacks larvre earlier than does American fonl brood, and a 

 comparativelj- small percentage of the diseased brood is ever capped. The dis- 

 eased larvfe which are cai)ped over have snnken and perforated cappings. 

 The larva^ when first attacked show a small yellow spot on the body near the 

 head and move imeasily in the cell. ^Yhen death occnrs they tnrn yellow, 

 then brown, and finally almost black. Decaying larvfe which have died of this 

 disease do not usually stretch out hi a long thread when a small stick is 

 inserted and slowly removed. Occasionally there is a very slight " ropiness," 

 but this is never very marked. The thoroughly dried larvae form irregular 

 scales which are not strongly adherent to the lower side wall of the cell. 

 There is very little odor from decaying larvoe which have died from this dis- 

 ease, and when an odor is noticeable it is not the " glue-pot " odor of the Ameri- 

 can foul brood, but more nearly resembles that of soured dead brood. This dis- 

 ease attacks drone and queen larvse very soon after the colony is infected. It is 

 as a rule much more infectious than American foul brood and spreads more 

 rapidly. On the other hand, it sometimes happens that the disease will dis- 

 appear of its own accord, a thing which the author never knew to occur in 

 a genuine case of American foul brood. European foul brood is most de- 

 structive during the spring and early summer, often almost disappearing iu 

 late summer and autumn. 



DAMAGE FROM BEE DISEASES. 



The damage from an epidemic of bee disease is as difficult to esti- 

 mate as is the damage from an epidemic of smallpox, of typhoid 

 fever, or of malaria in a human community. The loss of colonies 

 is but one small item ; there is the resulting loss of crop, the result- 

 ing lack of increase in the number of colonies of bees, and that demor- 

 alizing effect on the industry which tends to cause bee kee2)ers to go 

 out of business. Besides this there is a crippling of commercial queen 

 rearing, a check on the trade in bees, and a decisive effect on the 

 manufacture and sale of bee keepers' supplies. All these factors 

 must be considered in an estimate; and, what is more, the damage is 

 accumulatiA'e. It can not be calculated by the year and then totaled; 

 the progressive loss must be figured. 



In Xew York State, Avhere European foul brood has been com- 

 bated for nearly a decade, and where it is now well suppressed, it 

 has been estimated that the damage from loss of bees alone, in a 

 very limited area, in 1899 and 1900, was at least $45,000. 



In Ventura County, Cal., where American foul brood flourishes, a 

 thriftless bee keeper had 151 colonies which, from neglect, were re- 

 duced to 14 colonies in a little over twelve months' time. One hun- 

 dred and thirty-seven colonies had died or were nearly dead. But 

 there are many more and even sadder cases, were there space to relate 

 them. 



" The brood diseases of bees. By E. F. Phillips, Ph. D. Circular 79, Bureau 

 of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, p. 2. 



