162 



EIGHTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE 



to disinfect the hives, but -u-hether it 

 is necessary or not we do not know. 

 If there were honey or burr combs 

 containing honey left in the hive it 

 would be almost necessary to remove 

 them. 



Mr. Holterman — Do you think it 

 would be possible during the next 

 year to take colonies in which the di.*^- 

 ease has been bad and see if it is 

 possible to get cultures from a hive 

 which has not been disinfected? 



Dr. White — I can't say positively 

 what will be done during the coming 

 year, but it would be a very good 

 point to bear in mind when we can 

 get to it. 



Mr. Frazem — I would like to ask the 

 doctor if it is not a fact known to the 

 scientific Avorld that there are bacteria 

 of health as well as bacteria of dis- 

 ease, and ihat there is always a battle 

 between the bacteria of health and the 

 bacteria of disease, and that being the 

 fact, if it is not possible to apply the 

 principles of hygiene to the conditions 

 of our bees and keep them in a 

 healthy state so that it would be prac- 

 tically impossible for them to take the 

 disease even when there is a chance 

 of contagion. 



Dr. White — I think no matter how 

 healthy your bees are, if they get a 

 sufficient amount of honey which con- 

 tains the spores of bacillus larvae 

 they will get the disease. Although 

 the suggestion is a good one, we know 

 definitely nothing about the matter. I 

 believe it would be better always to 

 keep your colonies in as perfect a con- 

 dition of health as possible. 



Dr. Rohrer — I understand that has 

 reference to an antidote. That being 

 the case, as far as known now, the 

 best antidote I have found is hot 

 water or fire. 



The President — The next number on 

 our program is "How to Detect and 

 Know Bee Diseases," by W. D. Wright 

 of Altamount, New York, one of the 

 New York Inspectors of Apiaries. 



Mr. Wright — I think my paper will 

 corroborate or follow along the same 

 lines as that which Dr. White has 

 given us. It is as follows: 



HOW TO DETECT AND KNOW BEE 

 DISEASES. 



Of course Mr. White's method of 

 determining the different bee diseases 

 by the use of the microscope, is abso- 



lutely correct, but as the majority of 

 bee-keepers are unable to use this in- 

 strument in their diagnosis, it is well 

 that there are certain characteristics 

 pi-esent in the difCerent form of dis- 

 ease which will enable careful, ob- 

 servant bee-keepers to determine with 

 the naked eye, what disease, if any, 

 is present. 



I will first describe "European Foul 

 Brood" (bacillus alvei) which has 

 caused greater losses among the apia- 

 ries of New York State than all other 

 diseases combined. 



On opening a badly infected colony 

 the most striking feature is the scat- 

 tering capped cells containing brood. 

 When you notice such an appearance 

 don't fail to look for further evidence. 



Many of these capped cells contain 

 healthy brood, and the mottled appear- 

 ance of the comb is caused by the 

 large number of larvae, that, on ac- 

 count of disease, fail to mature and 

 are never capped. 



However, in the earlier stages of 

 the diseases, we are obliged to look 

 for other symptoms, always remem- 

 bering that the pearly white and 

 glistening larvae are healthy, and only 

 those which have lost their lustre, 

 and in some cases become mis-shapen, 

 or which show a small black or bright 

 yellow spot near the center, are to be 

 looked upon with suspicion. 



This latter symptom is not always 

 present, as a colony may be badly 

 affected without showing any such. 



After the larvae dies it turns to a 

 dull yellow color and continues to 

 grow darker with age, running 

 through all the shades of brown to 

 nearly black. 



Under favorable conditions this dis- 

 ease rapidly spreads throughout the 

 brood nest until the majority of the 

 brood is dead, and the hives become 

 almost cesspools. 



At this stage the brood gives off a 

 very foul odor, simiilar to "American 

 Foul Brood." 



In this disease most of the dead 

 brood is uncapped, but occasionally a 

 few of the dead are capped, the cap- 

 pings of which may be sunken or per- 

 forated. 



Therie is little or no ropyiess found 

 in this disease. The dead larvae often 

 remain coiled around the bottom of 

 the cells, drying down to a thin scale 



