DISEASES OF BEES 21 



Technique. — I have not yet succeeded in seeing these bodies in 

 fresh tissue or in tissue which is preserved but not sectioned and 

 stained, but this is due chiefly to the difficulty of freeing the cells 

 from the thick layer of muscles and the cuticle between which 

 they lie. The method I adopt is to fix the alimentary canal from 

 the living bees in Bouin's fixative, then pass it through the usual 

 reagents to embedding in paraffin wax. The sections are stained with 

 safranin and methyl violet, resulting in the inclusion bodies being 

 stained bright red by the safranin and clearly differentiated from 

 the surrounding tissue which is stained various combinations of 

 violet and red. Other fixatives and stains will demonstrate the 

 bodies, but the staining is not so differential. 



Treatment. — ^The most satisfactory treatment for Bee Paralysis 

 is feeding with syrup (1-2 lbs. per B. S. frame of bees), unless a 

 honey-flow happens to coincide with the outbreak of disease and 

 the stock is strong enough to take advantage of the flow. A change 

 of queen is desirable since there is some evidence that a diseased 

 queen is able to transmit the disease to workers. The disease does 

 not spread easily in an apiary. There seems no need to burn the 

 equipment of a stock which succumbed from this disease alone, 

 yet it seems wise to keep the equipment of an affected stock 

 confined to the single hive. 



In conclusion. Bee Paralysis is a field of research where many 

 workers would find problems of scientific interest and practical 

 importance. 



