The Occurrence of Diseases of Adult Bees, II. 25 



aided by private funds, and not a Government project. The interest 

 in this subject promises to be the incentive for support for much- 

 needed investigations, either from public or from private sources. 



EMBARGOES TO PREVENT INTRODUCTION OF BEE DISEASES. 



Several countries other than the United States have taken steps to 

 prevent the introduction of the Isle of Wight disease and other dis- 

 eases of bees. The embargo placed by the Dominion of Canada is 

 well known to American beekeepers. Other British Dominions have 

 taken similar precautions, notably the Union of South Africa, 

 Jamaica, and Australia. There seems now to be an insistent demand 

 from beekeepers of Italy for a strict prohibition of importations of 

 bees into Italy. Because of the vast interest created by the work 

 of Doctor Eennie and his associates, it is to be expected that other 

 countries will follow the same course, and in all probability the free 

 international shipment of bees will soon be a thing of the past. 



Under regulation 6 (5) of the regulations formulated for the 

 enforcement of the act of Congress of August 31, 1922 (see appen- 

 dix), it is provided that importations of adult bees from any coun- 

 try other than the Dominion of Canada shall be conditioned on the 

 determination of the Secretary of Agriculture, as a result of ade- 

 quate scientific investigation, that no diseases dangerous to adult 

 honeybees exist in the country in question, and that adequate pre- 

 cautions have been taken by such country to prevent the importation 

 of adult honeybees from countries where such dangerous diseases 

 exist. The purpose of this regulation is solely to safeguard Ameri- 

 can beekeeping interests, but it indicates clearly what steps are neces- 

 sary for the protection of the beekeeping interest of any country 

 against these dangerous diseases. This policy on the part of the 

 United States Government will make it less probable that beekeepers 

 of other countries wishing to ship queenbees into the United States 

 will attempt to conceal the true situation ; rather, they wiU urge that 

 provisions for thorough investigations be made, if their trade with 

 this country justifies the expense and labor of such investigations. 



As a result of the freedom which Amercian beekeepers formerly 

 enjoyed regarding the importation of bees, they now have three 

 brood diseases, Nosema disease, the so-called paralysis, and perhaps 

 other diseases of adult bees, all of which, so far as they are con- 

 tagious or infectious, were assuredly brought to this country from 

 abroad, since the honeybee is not native to America. The price which 

 beekeepers of the United States are now paying for these accidental 

 importations of diseases amounts to at least a million dollars annu- 

 ally, a high price to pay for the privilege of buying bees wherever 

 one wishes, without knowledge as to the safety of the transaction. 

 Under the law now in force, such importations may be safeguarded, 

 so far as investigation has discovered the causes of diseases which 

 are not yet present in this country. That there is still at least one 

 disease of adult bees which is not present in the United States seems 

 probable, because of the inability to find it during the past two sea- 

 sons. Why the Isle of Wight disease is not widespread in the 

 United States is a matter of mystery, but one of purely theoretical 

 interest. If, as is believed and hoped, the United States is free from 

 this disease, then the door has been closed in time, and it should be 



