864 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



IS IT A NEW OR OLD TROUBLE? 



BY W. 0. MOLLETT 



Last winter I began to notice that there 

 were more dead bees at the entrances of 

 some of the hives than T had ever seen be- 

 fore. These were mostly very strong colo- 

 nies. I did not think there was a disease, 

 but rather thought the condition might be 

 due to the weather, and I expected they 

 would be all right when the weather became 

 better. The winter was very changeable — 

 very warm for a few days, and then sudden- 

 ly cold, and there was considerable rain and 

 damp cloudy weather. 



I thought also it might be due to the kind 

 of honey the bees had gathered, or some lit- 

 tle m.atter which would soon right itself. I 

 began to notice closer, and I perceived after 

 a cold night there would be a great many 

 apparently dead bees at the entrance of the 

 hive ; but when the sun came out a great 

 many of them would begin to crawl around, 

 and try to get back into the hive. I noticed 

 also that the bees were carrying out many 

 bees that were not dead, but seemed to be 

 affected in some way. When I opened the 

 hive a considerable number of bees would 

 begin to crawl over the tops of the frames 

 in a slow manner, as if they were just about 

 to die. These would usually be of a very 

 dai'k color as if the fuzz had all been worn 



off them, and tJiey usually seemed to be 

 smaller — considerably more so than they 

 should be. When any of them were carried 

 out or brushed oft' the frames' they would 

 craAvl around for a while and then fall over 

 on their backs and tremble, and keep their 

 legs moving for some time and then die. 



These conditions kept on till spring came, 

 and the colonies were so weakened that they 

 could not build up enough to gather any 

 honey to notice. Some of the bees seemed 

 to get well when the weather was warm — at 

 least the dead bees did not show up so 

 much; but some of the colonies kept on in 

 the same way all summer, and are still dy- 

 ing just as they did in the Avinter. 



I first thought it was spring dwindling; 

 but this disappears early in the summer. I 

 am under considerable uneasiness lest it 

 may keep up and finally affect all the colo- 

 nies, which would completely ruin the pros- 

 pect, for the time at least. It seems to af- 

 fect only the adult bees, and does not have 

 an- odor of any account. 



Stonecoal, W. Va. 



[This is probably a case of bee paralysis. 

 Usually in such case^ a change of queen will 

 affect a cure. — Ed.] 



Straw skeps made large enough to cover an ordinary hive and super, making the scene artistically old- 

 fashioned, and providing considerable protection as well. From C. Gallrell, Newburyport, Mass. 



