DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 



once the real thing has taken possession of a 

 colony, the condition of the brood, and the 

 terrible stench, will enable him to detect its 

 presence at once. The American foul brood 

 is easily distinguished from the European 

 foul or black brood by its sticky or ropy 

 nature, as a very easy test will prove. One 

 of its first symptoms is that some of the brood 

 will fail to hatch, and the cappings of the cells 

 will assume a sunken appearance, and if a 

 match or wooden toothpick is inserted into 

 the cell and gently pulled out, a foul-smelling 

 mucilaginous substance will adhere to it. 

 The larva soon loses its shape, and becomes 

 a sticky mass, smelling very much like ordi- 

 nary glue. The offensive odor is not very 

 pronounced in its early stages, but as the 

 disease advances, it becomes more and more 

 noticeable. 



The larvae that are attacked are usually 

 sealed over by the bees, but this is not always 

 the case, as it frequently happens that the 

 unsealed brood is destroyed, especially if the 



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