BEE DISEASES 123 



length of the average summer and will ef- 

 fectively prevent ants and other insects 

 from crawling into the hive. 



With the exception of American and 

 European foulbrood all of the pests of the 

 apiary can best be combatted by keeping 

 all colonies in a strong condition. The 

 natural resistance of a strong colony is of 

 more service to us in repelling obscure and 

 little known diseases and insect enemies 

 than any amount of fussing about the 

 hive that we can do. The two forms of 

 foulbrood are just as liable to attack a 

 strong colony as a weak one, and in such 

 cases our assistance is imperative if we 

 are to save the life of the colony. For 

 most other troubles our best course is to 

 manage our bees so that at all times the 

 colonies are strong in numbers and are 

 provided with sufficient stores. Under 

 such conditions the honey-bee, especially 

 if it be of the Italian race, can nearly al- 

 ways hold its own. 



