48 



anil that is the ndour, wliilc imt exactly foul, resembles greatly that from a cabinet- 



inak«--s -lue-pot : and wlicn (he .lisease is pretty well advanced in the hive, the odour 



will make itself manifest u])on lifting tlie co\cr or .(uilt, even before exposing the 



1„. 1. ]f ,,ther colonies are atlccted, ,and the disease spreads, it is probably American 



(.)r rop\- foul lirorid. 



KmorEAN Foul Bkood. 



The nerms of this disease were first discovered in Europe, hence the name. The 

 ajipearance of this form of foul Ijrood is thus dcscrilied :— 



"Advdt bees in aft'ected colonies are not very active, but do succeed in cleaning 



out some of the dried scales. This disease attacks larva- earlier than does American 



foul brood, and a comparatively small percentage of the diseased brood is ever capped; 



the diseased larv:e which are capped o\'er have sunken and perforated cappings. The 



larva- when first attacked show a small yellow spcjt near the head and move uneasily 



in the cell ; when death occurs they turn yellow, then brown, and finally almost black. 



Decaying larv;e which have died of this disease do not usually stretch out in a long 



thread when a small stick is inserted and slowly removed ; occasionally there is a very 



slight 'ropiness,' but this never very marked. The thoroughly dried larvse form 



iriegular scales, which are not strongly adherent to the lower side-wall of the cell. 



There is veiy little odour from decaying larva) which haA'e died from this disease, and 



when an odour is noticeable it is not the 'glue-pot ' odour of American foul brood, but 



more resembles that of soured dead brood. This disease attacks drone and queen 



larva-- very soon after the colony is infected. It is, as a rule, much more infectious 



than American foul brood and spreads more lapidly. Eiuopean foul brood is most 



destructive during the spring and earl3' summer, often almost disappearing in late 



summer and autumn." 



Pickled Brood. 



This is the name given to a disease of the Ijrood about which very little is at 

 present known. jSIany of the symptoms are very like those of Eurtjpean foul brood, 

 but the cause of death is supposed to be starvation, excess of heat or cold, or poison in 

 the food. We have seen that there maj' be a sudden stoppage of nectar at certain 

 seasons ; consequently, in a hi\'e that is short of stores at such a time, thousands of the 

 }'oung must literally starve to death. In extremely hot weather, when ventilation is 

 deficient, the inside temperature of the hive may become so hot as to cook the young 

 larv« ; on the other hand, a sudden drop in temperature will cause the bees to contract 

 their cluster, exposing many of the young so that tliey freeze to death. Then in the 

 fruit-bloom season some ranchers spray before the blossoms fall with a poisonous 

 solution, and, of course, the bees that visit such an orchard not only die of the poison, 

 but frequently are able to empty their load into the cells before succumbing. The 

 poisoned honej' kills anj' brood to which it is fed. 



We see, therefore, that the presence of dead brood in a hi\'e demands instant 

 consideration. The first question to be asked is, what is the likelihood of starvation? 

 The condition of the stores should answer that. Next, has any one in the neighbourhood 

 been spraying blossoms with a poisonous mixture V The bee-keeper should know by the 

 season, the number of dying bees round the hive, and the liabits of his neighliours. In 

 the same way he will ijrobably know the facts al)out recent temperatures. When the 

 disease is due to any of these causes the bees in due course clean out the cells, and 

 there is no trouble with subsequent brood. Should, however, neither starvation, heat, 

 cold, nor poison account for the condition, or should the diseased brood continue or 

 increase, then help should be solicited from the Department of Agriculture. As a 

 diseased hive weakens, bees from other hives rob it of its stores, thus conveying the 

 germs to all the hi"\-es in the vicinit}'. 



