State Bee-Keepers' Association. hi 



ENEMIES OF BEES. 



There is no enemy so much dreaded as the moth miller. The best 

 preventative against the miller is to keep the stock strong and they will not 

 permit her to deposit her eggs upon the comb. 



DISEASES OF BEES. < 



Bees are subject to but few diseases which deserve especial notice. 

 There appear to be but two distinct types to which they are subject in this 

 country, viz : Dysentery and foul brood, the former of these generally makes 

 its appearance in the spring, and may be known by the bees discharging 

 their excrements over the comb, the interior of the hive, and especially 

 around the entrance; the color instead of being yellow is of a dark muddy 

 appearance and has a sickening offensive odor, which becomes intolerable . 

 1 have never had a case where I gave upward ventilation to the hives; the 

 cause may be ascribed to the moisture in the hive condensing, and mixing 

 with the honey in the cells. Colonies affected by dysentery are usually lost 

 unless warm weather timely intervenes or they are removed to a warm room 

 so that the wat;er in the honey may be evaporated, which will generally 

 terminate the trouble. 



DISEASED OR FOUL KROOD. 



In the destruction of the nymph or pupa from some derangement which 

 causes it to undergo decomposition in the cell arises a disease known us 

 Foul Brood. Some say it is caused by the brood being chilled in the cell; 

 others that it is caused by the fermentation of bee-breed and honey. Mr. 

 Rood, of Wayne, Mich., recommends that it be summarily dealt with, and 

 the way to exterminate it entirely is to bury it, hive, bees and all, beyond 

 any possibility of resurrection. I cannot see why by Mr. Ouimby's method, 

 in the hands of a skillful operator, it could not be treated without the liability 

 of spreading and save the bees, honey, wax and hives; ihe method after Mr. 

 Quimby's plan is driving out all the bees and putting them into new hives 

 without any comb. If you wish to put them into hives with comb they should 

 be kept in a box three or four days and fed just enough to keep them alive 

 until they have consumed all the honey they took from the old hive. The 

 old hive must be secured from robber bees, as any of the honey being carried 

 into other stocks would prove their destruction as this disease is as contag- 

 ious as measels or small-pox; the honey may be purified by adding a little 

 water, boiling it for a few minutes and removing the scum. The comb 

 must be either melted or buried to be beyond the reach of the bees; the 

 hives may be renovated by using a powerful disinfectant, but I prefer to bum 

 them. If a colony is affected in the fall, too late to built comb, and no comb 

 on hand to put them in, the best disposition is to consign them to the brim- 

 stone pit, rather than to attempt to feed them through the winter to lose 

 them in the spring. 



