BACTEEIA PROM THE COMBS, 13 



of the hives, combs, honey, pollen, larvae, and adult bees was begun, 

 to determine the bacteria normally preseftt. It was not hoped that 

 all the species isolated could be easily identified, or that all would 

 merit a careful description, but it was hoped that those species which 

 seemed to be localized in any part of the apiary, or upon or within the 

 bees, might be studied and described with sufficient care to guarantee 

 their identification upon being isolated again. The chance of varia- 

 tion in morphology, pathogenesis, and cultural characters due to 

 environmental conditions to which these micro-organisms were being 

 subjected at the time, or to which they had been subjected before 

 isolation or study, has been carefully borne in mind. 



BACTERIA PBOM THE COMBS. 



One might naturally suppose that very many species of bacteria 

 would be present on combs, since these are exposed more or less to the 

 contaminating influence of the air. The reverse, however, seems to 

 be true. The number of different species isolated is comparatively 

 small. Those which appear most often are described below. Some 

 other species mentioned in this paper are found on combs, but inas- 

 much as they appear most frequently from other sources they are 

 described there. One species of Saccharomyces from the comb, also, 

 is described under the heading " Saccharomyces and fungi." 



Bacillus A. 

 {B. mesentericus?) 



Occurrence. — Found very frequently on combs, on scrapings from hives, and 

 on the bodies of bees, both diseased and healthy. 



Oelatin colonies. — Very young colonies show irregular edges, but very soon 

 liquefaction takes place and the colony gives rise to a circular liquefied area, 

 covered with a gray membrane, which later turns brown. 



Agar colonies. — Superficial colonies present a very irregular margin consist- 

 ing of outgrowths taking place in curves. Deep colonies show a filamentous 

 growth having a moss-like appearance. 



Morphology. — In the living condition the bacilli appear clear and often grauu 

 lar, arranged singly, in pairs, and in chains. The flagella are distributed over 

 the body. The rods measure from Sn to 4/i in length, and from 0.9/4 to L2|U 

 in thickness. 



Motility. — The bacUli are only moderately motile. 



Spores. — Spores are formed in the middle of the rod. 



Gram's stain. — The bacilli take Gram's stain. 



Oxygen requirements. — Aerobic and facultatively anaerobic. 



Bouillon. — Luxuriant growth in 24 hours, with cloudiness of medium ; a gray 

 flocculent membrane is present. Later, the membrane sinks and the medium 

 clears, leaving a heavy, white, flocculent sediment, with a growth of the organ- 

 isms adhering to the glass at the surface of the medium. Reaction alkaline. 



Glucose. — Luxuriant growth takes place in the bulb, with a moderate, floccu- 

 lent growth in closed arm. The gradual settling of the organisms causes a 



