

GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



MAY, 1921 ,^> 



3 



EDITORIAL 



Beware a 

 Shortage 

 of Stores. 



THE COLONIES arc so strong aiul have 

 so much more brood than usual for this time 

 of year thru the north- 

 eastern portion of the 

 country that there is 

 great danger of their 

 running short of stores 

 before the beginning of the main honey 

 flow. In the clover region the next few 

 weeks is a critical time in this respect; and 

 beekeepers should keep a close watch on 

 the stores, for even a few days . of bad 

 weather may bring these big colonies to the 

 verge of starvation and practically ruin 

 them for the season. 



On the other hand, these mammoth colo- 

 nies are able to send such a large force of 

 bees into the fields whenever the weather is 

 favorable that they are often able to re- 

 plenish, their stores and actually gain in 

 weight at this season while weaker colo- 

 nies are starving- 

 No beekeeper can afford to take chances 

 on meager stores at this time unless nec- 

 tar is being gathered freely every day. 

 Every colony should have 10 to 20 pounds 

 of honey in advance of their needs to draw 

 on during bad weather. No other one thing, 

 in the care of the bees, is so important at 

 this season as an abundance of stores. 



DO ^CIP 



AS WILL be seen by the Government mar- 

 ket reports, the situation is improving. 

 Honey is starting to go 

 The Honey to Europe in a limited 

 Situation way, and, what is of 

 Improving, consider able signifi- 

 cance, honey in bottles 

 and tumblers is beginning to move. This 

 is doubtless due to a slight improvement in 

 the economic situation over tlie country 

 generally. In the mean time the crop in 

 southern California is not going to be as 

 large as was first predicted. See report by 

 L. L. Andrews in this issue, in the Califor- 

 nia department. The crop of Texas nies- 

 quite has been cut short by rains that came 

 too soon. 



The heavy freezes and blizzards, pre- 

 ceded by a prolonged spell of warm weather, 

 have killed the early fruit bloom thruout a 

 large area, and reports from all over the 

 country indicate that this will be one of 

 the shortest vears for fruit that has been 



known in years. Tlie possible loss of bees 

 by starvation thnmut the TTnited States on 

 account of licavy lireeding, tlie reduction in 

 the California ciop, and the failure of the 

 fruit crop thiiKnit a large poi-tion of the 

 country will h.-txc an influence in stimulat- 

 ing an upward ticnd in honey jirices. 

 Q (O ^c a - iff 



A REPOKT of the investigations on the 

 Isle of Wight disease by Dr. John Renuie 

 and his associates, 

 Isle of Wight which led to the dis- 

 Disease. covery of the cause 



of this baffling mal- 

 ady, has just been publish('(l in Transac- 

 tions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 

 Vol. LII, Part IV- (Issued separatelv as No. 

 29, March 25, 1921.) 



This pai)er is in four parts: (1) The Etio- 

 logy (cause) of the Disease, by John 

 Reiinie, D.Sc; Pliilip Bruce White, B.Sc. 

 and Elsie J. Harvey; (2) The Pathology of 

 the Isle of Wight Disease in Hive Bees, by 

 Philip Bruce White, B. Sc; (3) Isle of 

 Wight Disease in Hive Bees — Experiments 

 on infection with Tarsonemus Woodi, by 

 Elsie J. Harvey; (4) Isle of Wight Disease 

 in Hive Bees — Acliarine Disease: Tlie or- 

 ganism associated with the disease — Tarso- 

 nemus Woodi, by John Rennie, D.Sc. 



The authors give a brief review of the 

 jirevious observations on this disease since 

 it was fii'st recognized in the island from 

 which it derives its name in 1904, mention- 

 ing the work of Imms (1907), Maiden 

 <1909), Graham Smith, Fantham, and others 

 (1912-1913), Anderson (1916), Anderson 

 and Rennie (1916), and Rennie and Harvey 

 (1919, two papers). 



In 1912 and 1913 Graham Smith and oth- 

 ers put forward Nosema Apis as the cause 

 of the Isle of Wight disease, but in 1919 

 Anderson and Rennie, and Rennie and Har- 

 vey succeeded in establishing that Nosema 

 infection is not found in Isle of Wight dis- 

 ease, but is the cause of a distinct malady. 

 Similar conclusions had been drawn by Dr. 

 White in this conntry in 1918. 



The cause of Isle of Wight disease is now 

 found to be a hitherto undescribed mite, 

 identified by Dr. Rennie as belonging to 

 the genus Tarsonemus. which it is jiroposed 

 to name Tarsonemus Woodi in lionor of A. 

 H. E. Wood, who rendered financial aid in 

 carrying on the investigations. 



