Enemies of Bees— Dec Killer, Bee Mite. 333 



Mr. Enas finds this species in his hives, killing and eating tlic 

 bees. The remedy must be hand picking which will not be 

 very difficult. 



A BEE MITE. 



It has long been known to chicken fanciers that our poultry 

 often suffer serious injury from a small mite. Other mites 

 attacked the cow, the horse, the sheep, etc. 



During the past Spring a lady bee-keeper of Connecticut 

 discovered these mites in her hives while 

 investigating to learn the cause of their 

 rapid depletion. She had noticed that 

 the colonies were greatly reduced in num- 

 ber of bees, and upon close observation 

 she found that the diseased or failing col- 

 onies were covered with these mites. 

 The strong and prosperous colonies were 

 exempt from the annoyance. So small 

 are these little pests that a score could 

 take possession of a single bee, and not 

 be near neighbors either. The lady states 

 Fig. 191. that the bees roll and scratch in their vain 



attempts to rid themselves of these annoying stick-tights, and 

 finally, worried out, either fall to the bottom of the hive or go 

 forth to die outside. 



The bee-mite is very small, hardly more than five m. m. (1-.50 

 of an inch) long. The female is slightly larger than the male, 

 and somewhat transparent. The color is black, though the 

 legs and more transjiarent areas of the females appear yellow- 

 ish. 



EEMEDIES. 



The fact that what would be poison to the mite would prob- 

 ably be death to the bees, makes this question of remedy quite 

 a difficult one. I can only suggest what Mrs. Squire has tried 

 — frequent changing of the bees from one hive to another, after 

 which the hive can be freed from the mites by scalding. Of 

 course, the more frequent the transfer the more thorough the 

 remedy. 



I would suggest placing pieces of fresh meat, greased or 

 sugared paper, etc., in the hives in hopes to attract the pests, 

 which when massed on these decoys could easily be killed. 



