Control American 

 Foulbrood 



H. F. Wilson. 



Ridding Wisconsin apiaries of foulbrood is almost entirely 

 in the hands of beekeepers themselves. Through co-operative 

 effort only can the amount of disease be reduced to a mini- 

 mum. In counties where local beekeepei-s' associations exist 

 they are organizing clean-up campaigns and \vith the help of 

 the state apia>y inspector are getting the better of the disease. 



Wisconsin is a beekeepers' paradise, for • failures are few 

 and almost the entire state is covered with flowering plants 

 that secrete nectar readily. But for 20 years beekeeping has 

 suffered from a slowly-eating cancer that at one time threat- 

 ened to wipe out the industry. Between 1900 and 1918, bee 

 diseases and winter losses caused a decrease of from 30 per 

 cent to 50 per cent of all colonies.. Shortly before 1918 the 

 interest, among beekeepers had fallen to its lowest ebb and it 

 was a common- sight to see hundreds of empty hives instead 

 of prosperous and productive apiaries. Fortunately the dis- 

 ease situation is improving and American foulbrood, the chief 

 offender, issslowly being eradicated through better inspection 

 laws and more educational work. 



The three brood disjeases of bees more or less common 

 in Wisconsin, are American foulbrood," European foulbrood, 

 and sacbrood. 



American foulbrood occurs wherever it has been carried 

 either by human agencies or by the bees themselves. Euro- 

 pean foulbrood cind sacbrood do not occur in a virulent form 

 over all regions of the state; and there is a direct influence of 

 climate and nectar secretions On both of these diseases. Sac- 

 brood is more widespread and has caused more trouble this 

 past season than in any of the four years previously observed. 

 Its range does not. appear to be entirely affected by the same 



