Isle of Wight Disease in Hive Bees. 55 



any swarm might hive itself. The nearest bees to Back are at Tong, about 

 2 miles away, and the Tong bees have always been quite healthy. 



At June 1915, the Back bees were so prosperous that they were supered. 

 On 28th June, the super was removed and the tops of the frames smeared 

 with a paste made by mashing diseased bees with honey. These bees were 

 crawlers picked off the ground in front of an infected Deeside stock. The 

 bees were sent alive from Aberdeen and pulped in Stornoway. 



On 8th August the stock was visited, and it was found that the bees and 

 the two hives had been shifted from the original site to a less suitable 

 one in a very unskilful manner, by one who was not a bee-keeper. The 

 bees had previously swarmed, and the swarm had occupied the vacant hive 

 as had been expected. The combs and quilts had been disarranged, so that 

 the swarm got a very poor chance. The jar used in infection was still on 

 the parent stock and some comb had been built in it, but there was no trace 

 of the Isle of Wight material. 



On 14th August, both lots of bees had to be hurriedly shifted to still 

 another site at a distance of about 400 yards, and during the process 

 a considerable number of bees was lost. There was no brood in either hive ; 

 presumably both were headed by virgin queens. This absence of fertile 

 queens, the two disastrous removals, and the swarming constituted a combina- 

 tion of factors which could not fail to weaken and discourage the bees. 



On 19th June, the bees had been examined microscopically ; no spores of 

 Nosema were found. 



On 11th September, bees from Back arrived in Aberdeen. They were 

 active, and some of them survived until 16th. On this date live bees were 

 examined individually for Nosema with negative results. The dead bees were 

 pulped, and samples examined were also found free from Nosema spores. 



On 20th October, bees were received which had been dispatched on the 

 12th, with the following report:—" Symptoms same as No. E14 in Nicolson 

 Apiary. The stock is almost exterminated. The bees sent represent 

 ' crawlers ' and remnants in the hive." 



Of these fifteen dead bees were pulped, and drops examined for Nosema 

 with negative results. 



On 28 th October, Back was visited and both stocks were found almost 

 extinct. A small knot of bees remained in each hive on the combs. The 

 queen of one was warmed into activity, and lived for a few hours. There 

 was plenty of food. The local observer (Morrison) reported that both lots 

 bad displayed the typical " crawling " symptoms. 



It is worth noting that while this experiment has culminated after four 

 months in the bees apparently contracting Isle of Wight disease, which did 



