DISEASES OF BEES 41 



Brother Adam, O.S.B. (St. Mary's Abbey, Buckfast.) 



Bee Paralysis can cause serious loss to the beekeeper. In cases 

 where this disease has been allowed to develop unchecked I have 

 seen colonies perish outright, the dead bees accumulating within 

 the hive between the combs to a depth of six inches. 



The most conspicuous symptoms of paralysis are that the 

 affected bees become denuded of hair, possess a distended abdomen, 

 present a glossy black appearance and are bereft of all power of 

 locomotion. They seem listless and can but feebly flutter their 

 wings. When in this condition the diseased bees are evicted, to 

 perish outside their home, by the still healthy members of the 

 colony. The decomposing bodies, as they accumulate in front of the 

 hive, give off a most obnoxious odour. 



Paralysis attacks bees principally during the early part of the 

 auturrm. However, minor infestations may occur at any season 

 of the year. 



Disinfectants, even if used in strong solutions, impart not the 

 slightest relief to colonies affected by this disease, whereas dusting 

 the bees with flowers of sulphur has never yet to my knowledge 

 failed to effect a complete cure. A handful of sulphur, sprinkled 

 over the bees and the tops of the brood-combs, and the same 

 dose repeated a fortnight later, will cure the worst case of this 

 disease. 



Apparently certain strains of bees are practically immune to 

 this form of paralysis. On the other hand some strains seem most 

 susceptible to it. 



Very little is known of the causative agent of bee paralysis. 

 According to the findings of a Swedish investigator, G. Turesson, 

 paralysis is caused by poisons produced by certain moulds or fungi. 

 By feeding a colony a solution of honey containing such toxins he 

 found that the bees developed paralysis within three to four days 

 and finally succumbed to its effects. 



The disease, supposedly caused by Bacillus gaytoni, to which 

 Cheshire referred, whilst similar in some respects to paralysis 

 differs substantially from this malady. In both diseases the affected 

 bees present a shiny black appearance. In paralysis, however, the 

 bees have distended abdomens and are deprived of practically all 

 power of movement, whereas in the other disease, according to 

 Cheshire, the bees are " undersized " and found " running " upon 

 the ground. 



The disease mentioned by Cheshire appears to be identical to 

 the Schwarzsucht or Waldtrachtkrankheit so common on the 

 Continent. E. Zander distinctly states that bees afflicted with this 

 complaint possess a contracted abdomen. On the Continent this 

 disease occurs chiefly when bees work on the pines, buckwheat, or 

 heather. Instances of this trouble have come under my observa- 

 tion on Dartmoor. The affected bees were tmdersized, hairless and 



