10 Departmenf of Agriculture 



Paralysis 



This is a disease which affects the adult bees. When a colony 

 of bees is attacked by this disease great numbers of the dead and 

 d}'ing are seen immediately in front of the hive. Many are seen 

 feebly crawling about and crawling up blades of grass or other 

 elevated objects and, attempting to fly, they fall to the ground. 

 A majority have the abdomen considerably swollen. Many are 

 almost hairless. A considerable number show a peculiar trembling 

 movement. Upon opening the hive many bees are seen almost 

 entirely devoid of hair. Seldom does this trouble cause the death 

 of a colony although often the colony is so weakened as to be of 

 no use as a producer of surplus honey. It is rare to tind more 

 than one or two colonies even in an apiary of considerable size 

 affected with this disease. No cause has been assigned for this 

 malady and there is no evidence to show that it is either con- 

 tagious or infectious. 



Dysentery 



This is a disease of the adult bees which is manifested by the 

 bees spotting the hive with their excrement It occurs in late winter 

 or early spring and is caused by too long a confinement on unsuit- 

 able stores. Any stores which contain a large percentage of indi- 

 gestible matter will bring on this trouble if the bees use such poor 

 stores at a time when they cannot take cleansing flights. 



Control Measures 

 American Foulbrood 



There has not been discovered as yet any method of curing 

 American foulbrood and at the same time saving the combs. This 

 is because the bees are unable to remove from the cells the scales 

 caused by the dried-down larvae. These scales are full of the 

 spores of the disease and their destruction by heat is the only 

 known method for their elimination. 



The process for curing a colony infected with American foul- 

 brood is known as the shaking treatment. The bees are shaken 

 or brushed from the diseased combs into a clean hive on the old 



