13 



encourage brood rearing to the fullest extent. Colonies which are 

 ^iven this treatment recover very rapidly, and often make fine colonies 

 for honey production. 



PARALYSIS 



Occasionally a beekeeper will observe adult bees on the alighting 

 board that are trembling. If this condition is in an advanced stage 

 the bees are rather shiny in appearance and the body is quite swollen. 

 The bees seem to be making an effort to fly, but are unable to do so. 

 Then they crawl around on the ground in front of the hive in an ef- 

 fort to get on some high point to make another effort to take wins. 

 Being unable to fly, these bees soon develop dysentery and then the 

 disorder above is outstanding. It seems that paralysis is more pre- 

 valent among black bees than among Italian. The relief measure is to 

 requeen with a good strain of Italian bees and give a stimulative feed. 

 If this condition has seriously depopulated the colony it is advisable 

 to give a frame of hatching brood from a healthy colony. 



NOSEMA 



This disease has been confused with the conditions just described 

 and in a good many instances it is quite likely that nosema was 

 the cause of the trouble. It is caused by a specific organism, which is 

 infectious and probably is carried by bees in collecting water for the 

 supply inside the hive. Robbing of diseased colonies is apparently a 

 source in the spread of nosema. It works slowly within the hive and 

 it is quite likely that a good many colonies recover from the disease 

 before it is observed by the beekeeper. The organism which causes 

 nosema attacks the digestive tract of the adult bee, causing a break- 

 ing down of tissues and resultant inability to digest food. In a colony 

 ■which is badly attacked the most evident condition is that of dysentery. 

 Probably the most satisfactory program of relief is to requeen the 

 •colony and give additional brood. This will enable the colony popula- 

 tion to develop more rapidly than the disease will attack and the 

 chances are that a cure can be effected. 



ISLE-OF-WIGHT 



This disease does not occur in the United States, as far as the 

 records show at present. However, it may appear and the beekeeper 

 should be alert to detect its presence. This disease has been very 

 severe in Europe and the British Isles. The cause of this disease is 

 a small mite or "chigger", which gets inside of the bee at the breath- 

 ing pores and there attaches itself and reproduces very rapidly. In 

 time the bee is unable to supply itself with the needed oxygen and in- 

 asmuch as it is not able to fly, the dysentery condition readily de- 

 velops. Affected bees in the last stages are inhabited by countless 

 numbers of the mites. Any suspected material should be examined 

 Tery carefully. 



PESTS 



Bee Louse. The bee louse pest has recently become of economic im- 

 portance in a few eastern sections of the United States. There are 

 records of its occurrence in the west, but apparently it has not estab- 

 lished itself very extensively. The beekeeper should be on the look- 

 out for it and slaould be familiar with the precautions and treatment 

 It has been quite a serious pest in Europe, where it is necessary for 

 the beekeeper to constantly fight to save colonies from its ravages. 



