COLORADO APIARY INSPECTION 



BY WESLEY FOSTER, BOULDER, COLORADO 



The beekeeping industry, while one ot the minor branches of agri- 

 culture, assumes proportions in Colorado of commercial importance in all 

 the irrigated districts. Bees are kept on something "over five thousand 

 farms, and over one hundred thousand colonies make up the apiary pop- 

 ulation of the state. The value of honey, wax, and hive products totals 

 over half a million dollars a year. The honey industry is one of con- 

 servation. If the nectar of the flowers is not gathered by the bees, it is 

 lost. The outlay for supplies is less than in most lines of production, 

 so that the net wealth production from beekeeping is greater than ap- 

 pears in the figures. The value of bees in th6 cross-pollination of fruit 

 blossoms is very great and can hardly be estimated in dollars and cents. 



The honey resources ot Colorado have not been fully developed for 

 two main reasons. First, the ravages of American foul-brood have deci- 

 mated the number of colonies of bees in many counties of the state. 

 There are few important honey-producing districts where foul-brood is 

 not a menace to the life and profits of the industry. 



The second main reason for the tardy development of the industry 

 Is the heavy winter losses sustained every few years. Winter losses In 

 Colorado are caused by lack of protection given the colonies during the 

 winter, practically all colonies being wintered in single-walled hives on 

 their summer stands, and a poor quality of honey stored in the hives for 

 the winter supply. 



With a more general understanding and practice of the best bee- 

 keeping methods, losses from foul-brood and wintering would not be so 

 common. 



It is the experience of all practical beekeepers that, after combating 

 foul-brood for a few years, it loses its terrors for them. Its rapid spread 

 and quick destruction of whole colonies and apiaries cause those who en- 

 counter the disease for the first time considerable alarm, but, after treat- 

 ing the disease and curing it in many colonies, the beekeeper soon real- 

 izes that, with watchfulness, he is easily master of the situation. 



This situation has led many beekeepers and inspectors to the opin- 

 ion that foul-brood is a blessing in disguise, because it eliminates the 

 careless beekeeper and is not a terror to the experienced operator. 

 American foul-brood responds to treatment in a satisfactory manner, and 

 serious concern need not be felt by anyone who will follow the instruc- 

 tions given by the inspectors, or directions found in bee journals and 

 publications on bee culture. 



It is practically impossible to rid a district entirely of disease, but it 

 is easy so to reduce the percentage of foul-brood that there is very little 

 loss each year. 



APIARY INSPECTION IS EDUCATIONAL 



The work of apiary inspection is, first, one of instruction in the 

 nature of bee diseases, their detection and cure. The inspector who is 

 thoroughly competent and conversant with his duties will so help and 

 instruct the beekeepers that a large proportion of them can be their own 

 inspectors. 



Next in importance of an Inspector's duties should be using his 

 thorough knowledge of the spread of disease over the county so as to 

 prevent the further distribution of the infection by indiscriminate mov- 

 ing of diseased apiaries. It is necessary to have a permit from the in- 

 spector before moving or shipping an apiary. If it is desired to move an 

 apiary, application for a permit must be m,ade to the inspector, who will 

 examine the apiary and, if found free of disease, issue a permit, unless 

 special quarantine regulations have been adopted in the districts af- 

 fected, which would preclude issuance of a permit at the time of the 

 first examination. 



