50 



There is another sort of robibing that one has to meet in other 

 ways. A double barrel shotgun is a fairly good remedy for this. 



Bei; Diseases and Enemies. 



Among the diseases with which the bee-keeper has to contend, 

 the most serious is foul brood. There are two classifications 

 of this known as European and American foul brood. 



It is an infectious disease which destroys the brood and event- 

 ually the colony. It is transmitted to healthy colonies by bees 

 robbing or by feeding honey from imknown sources, viz. : from 

 diseased colonies, by hiving new swarms in hives which have 

 contained foul brood and m other ways. The remedy is eter- 

 nal vigilance to prevent infection and if it gets into the yard, 

 prompt treatment. 



Many states have foul brood laws and inspection and it is 

 hoped that Maine soon will have. 



Every bee-keeper sihould have Farmers' Bulletin 442, "Treat- 

 ment of Bee Diseases," which will be sent free on application 

 to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



Italian bees are said to be more resistant to Foul Brood than 

 our common black bees and also to defend themselves better 

 from the bee moths. 



The principle enemies of the bees are, the bee moths, the 

 larger wax moths and the lesser wax moths. The moth gains 

 an entrance to weak colonies and deposits her eggs, where they 

 hatch and the larva does the damage. They burrow through 

 the combs constructing tunnels of silk as they go and the combs 

 are worthless if much progress is made. If discovered in time 

 the combs may be rid of larva and silk by removing the greater 

 part of both with some sharp pointed instrument or stick, and 

 the combs given to a strong colony. To guard against the 

 moth, have strong colonies if possible. Weak ones should have 

 entrance narrow to correspond to the strength of colony. Get 

 rid of old hives which are decayed and have new ones which 

 are tight. All empty hives should be carefully dosed so that 

 no moths can enter. If combs, whidh are of little or no value 

 become infected, melt them at once and save wax. Good combs 

 are often kept in a tight airy room and hung in racks about an 

 inch apart. 



