I02 Mites Injurious to Domestic Animals. 



apparently may sometimes, however, gain access to tte respiratory 

 system of the bee, for the author found a specimen of a male 

 Tarsonetnus in one of the thoracic tracheae of a healthy hive bee 

 from Golders Green. 



The Joint Committee on Research in Animal Nutrition of the 

 University of Aberdeen and the North of Scotland College of 

 Agriculture has issued a leaflet containing the following " Instruc- 

 tions for the Control of Acarine Disease " (see " Bee World," 

 October, 1920— April, 1921, p. 108) :— 



" 1. Weak stocks which crawl in spring should be examined for 

 Tarsonemus woodi. If found, the stock should be destroyed. This 

 may be done by burning sulphur within the hive. Such procedure 

 will, at the same time, disinfect the hive, frames and quilts. 



2. Owners of stocks weak from any cause should adopt every 

 possible means to prevent robbing. 



3. For the present, it seems desirable to exercise the greatest 

 caution in purchasing bees. These should be obtained only from 

 apiaries with no recent history of disease. With regard to bees 

 offered for sale from districts where the disease is prevalent, it 

 should be borne in mind that Acarine disease may be present in a 

 stock, while as yet collective crawling has not developed. 



4. With a view to preventing, as far as possible, the mingling 

 of bees of different stocks, avoid placing hives of similar appearance 

 in rows. If this is done the hives should show some distinctive 

 colouring. 



5. General advice : — 



(a) Do not attempt to winter stocks known to be diseased. 

 (6) If the disease show in summer before or during the 

 honey flow — 

 (i) Do everything to stimulate breeding, requeen if thought 



desirable, 

 (ii) Use a crawler trap, empty it daily, burn the dead bees ; 



never return crawlers to the hive, 

 (iii) If the stock become weak, prevent robbing and destroy 



as soon as foraging shows failing signs, 

 (iv) Control as far as possible the entrance of Drones to 

 hives. 



Note. — The only reliable test for the presence of Acarine 

 disease is the finding of the infective organism itself, within the bees. 

 If reported present, the procedure to be adopted must be deter- 

 mined by the proportion of infected bees in the stock, the season of 



