12 TEEATMENT OF BEE DISEASES. 



Tlie So-Called " Pickle Brood." 



Id addition to the two infectious diseases just described, brood 

 dead from other causes is often observed. The most common disease 

 of this kind is what is known among beekeepers as " pickle brood."' 

 This name is seemingly applied to a great many different appear- 

 ances and nothing is known of the cause or methods of spread. The 

 most typical form kills the larva when it has extended itself in 

 the cell. The larva usually lies on its back with the head turned 

 upward. The color varies, but is frequently light yellow or brown, 

 and the head is often almost black. The body is swollen and the 

 contents watery, and the head may be quite hard. There is no 

 ropiness. In case the larva are sealed before djdng the cappings 

 are usually normal. The name usually applied to this condition was 

 unwisely chosen, and for the present and until more is known con- 

 cerning the disease it is sjDoken of as the " so-called pickle brood." 



This trouble does not appear to be infectious and is usually not 

 serious, except that in the aggregate it may cause loss by weakening 

 colonies. Xo treatment is necessar}', as the trouble usually soon dis- 

 appears. The most serious aspect of this disease is that it is often 

 mistaken for one of the infectious diseases, and the colony is need- 

 lessly treated. 



Brood dead of other causes. 



Many different external factors may cause brood to die. If brood 

 is killed by chilling in the spring or fall, or by overheating in ex- 

 tremely hot weather, or in shipping colonies of bees, or by starvation, 

 the loss is often mistaken^ attributed to an infectious disease. Such 

 dead brood is soon removed by the bees. When the cause is removed 

 the trouble then soon disappears. Allien a considerable quantity of 

 brood is killed a disagreeable odor is usually present. 



" Bald-headed brood.'' 



It sometimes happens that unsealed or only partially sealed pupae, 

 known as "bald-headed brood,'' are observed in the hive, and fre- 

 quently beginners mistake such a condition for disease. The par- 

 tially built capping is often mistaken for the punctured capping of 

 American foul brood. If, on examination, the pupae are normal no 

 fear need be entertained. 



METHODS OF SPREAD. 



Both American foul brood and European foul brood spread from 

 colony to colony and from apiary to apiary in much the same way. 

 The common means of carrying the virus is in honey which has be- 

 come contaminated. The disease may be carried when bees rob a 

 hive in which a colony has died of disease or may be transmitted by 



442 



