44 



Stocks thus saved, even temporarily, can be maintained 

 with profit. 



Swarms in Relation to Disease. — It is a very general 

 occurrence, when affected stocks swarm, for extensive crawl- 

 ing to develop within a short period afterwards, and this is 

 frequently the first indication to the owner that his bees are 

 diseased. Therefore stocks preparing to swarm should be 

 closely watched for the suspicious signs mentioned above and 

 also for the beginnings of crawling. If these are recognised it 

 will be well to make an artificial swarm and to give a new 

 queen to the parent stock with the young bees on the new 

 site. This is a ready method of separating the older infected 

 bees from the younger. Watch closely the lot on the old 

 site (the older bees). 



If the swarm crawls heavily it should be destroyed. 



There is risk in purchasing swarms fro'm infested districts. 



Banger of Rohhing. — Disease is spread through robbing. 

 In the interests of the bee-keeping community, bee-keepers 

 should not afford facilities for robbing by keeping stocks weak 

 from disease. 



Eemember that in this matter the robbers suffer rather than 

 the robbed. 



Drones.- — If you are- not requiring drones, do all you can to 

 keep them out of yoiur hives. Diseased drones pass from 

 stock to stock and thus actively spread the trouble. 



Prevention rather than Cure. — Finally, it may be suggested 

 that the movement of colonies of swarms throughout the 

 country should be restricted as far as possible, unless these 

 have been previously tested and found free from disease. 

 AVhatever cures may eventually become available, there is as 

 yet no royal road to the eradication of Acarine Disease, but 

 intelligent application of the suggestions given above is likely 

 to enable the bee-keeper to carry on with some degree of 

 profit in the meantime, and to develop a system oi prevention 

 which in the long run is more valuable than cure. 



Dysentery. 



Symptoms. — Bees afflicted with dysentery discharge their 

 excrement on the interior walls of the hive, on the surface of 

 combs and on the floor board, the evacuations being usually 

 of a dark colour, cloudy in appearance with an extremely 

 offensive odour. While dysentery may be a symptom of either 

 of the two foregoing diseases, the condition also arises (usually 

 towards the end of winter and in the early spring) if the bees 

 have been confined in the hive for a considerable period. 



Causes. — The main causes of the dise'ise are: — 



(1) Unsuitable food, such as honey which has fermented; 



(2) Unsealed stores for winter which contain too much 



moisture ; 



(3) Honey dew as stores, eaten in the winter; 



