The Maryland Fabm Bubead Fedeeation 13 



generally are uiidecideil as to whether the lice cause any economic loss 

 in the death of bees or the queen. Some observers feel that the presence 

 of large numbers of bee lice on the ijueens may lead to supersedure, but 

 it may well be that a strong colony would be able to divest itself of these 

 intruders and that a weak colony would suffer greater loss from the pest 

 than the strong colony. It would seem reasonable at least that the 

 presence of the bee louse might be a contributing factor in the loss of 

 weak colonies, through death or sui^ersedure of the queen. 



There is no doubt that a considerable economic loss occurs in the pro- 

 duction of comb honey where the pest is numerous, as the tunnels of the 

 cappings disfigures the comb, throws it out of grade, and allows for leak- 

 age. Several methods of control have been suggested using chemicals on 

 the bottom board, but it is very doubtful whether such materials could be 

 used safely in sufiicient concentration to cause the lice to release their 

 hold on the bee without either killing some of the bees or causing them 

 to leave the hive. In the event that an apiary becomes thoroughly infested, 

 the wise procedure for the comb honey producer would be to extract all 

 honey and render out the wax in the fall of the year, thoroughly scrape 

 and sterilize the hives and start anew the following spring with package 

 bees, secured from some source where the bee louse is known to be ab- 

 sent. There seems to be a tendency, in the north at least, towards this 

 procedure as an annual practice to obviate the cost of packing, cellar 

 wintering, and the consumption of at least forty pounds of honey neces- 

 sary to carry the colony throughout the winter. The extraction of an 

 extra forty pounds of honey in the fall would go a long way towards 

 paying for the cost of new bees in the following spring. The disadvantage 

 lies in the fact that all wax in the colonies would have to be rendered and 

 the package bees would have to be started on new foundations and un- 

 finished sections could not be used with safety in the brood chamber. 



It is extremely doubtful whether a producer of extracted honey need 

 concern himself very greatly about the presence of the bee louse, unless 

 conditions get much more serious than they have ever been to our knowl- 

 edge, in which event the same procedure advocated for the comb honey 

 producer could be followed. 



