BEEKEEPING IN ARKANSAS 27 



material from the bees and give them a new start, proceeding as 

 follows: The hive with the infected colony is placed a little to 

 one side, and in its place is put a clean or new hive with frames 

 and full sheets of foundation. An extra hive body with cover 

 is placed conveniently nearby. From the infected hive the 

 frames are now removed one by one and the bees shaken off on 

 a large sheet of newspaper placed in front of the new hive. This 

 paper is burned up immediately after completing the shaking. 

 Some care must be exercised to see that the queen enters the 

 new hive. All infected material must be kept covered as much 

 as possible. When shaking is completed all the infected mater- 

 ial, hive bodies, combs, etc., is taken into the house where the 

 bees cannot get at it. The honey may be squeezed out or ex- 

 tracted, remembering, of course, that it is infected and will con- 

 taminate everything with which it comes in contact. The combs 

 may be rendered to wax. tThe hive bodies can be disinfected by 

 scorching them to a uniform brown color with a plumber's 

 torch. The frames if in good condition may be treated in a 

 similar way after all the wax and propolis are scraped off, if 

 it seems worth while; usually it will be found cheaper to burn 

 them and get new frames. 



Colonies should not be treated for foul brood unless some 

 honey is coming in; even then it will be well to feed them on the 

 first evening. If a strong flow is on it is not entirely safe to 

 put the bees on full sheets of foundation as indicated above; it 

 may be better to put them on starters for a day and then give 

 them full sheets of foundation, altho this is generally regarded 

 as unnecessary. 



European Foul Brood. This is caused by a pathogenic 

 organism known as Bacillus pluton. While it has caused as 

 much trouble as has American foul brood, it is by many beekeep- 

 ers not regarded as serious as that. The reason why it may cause 

 very heavy losses is that it spreads very rapidly thru an apiary, 

 often also thru a whole neighborhood. It is unlike American 

 foul brood in this respect; the latter may spread quite slowly. 



European foul brood attacks the larvae earlier in their 

 development when they are still curled up in the cell. The dis- 

 eased larvae take on a yellowish color. Later as the larvae 

 begin to decay they assume a greyish color and a melted appear- 

 ance. 



Larvae that have died as a result of American foul brood 

 are very adhesive, stick tightly to the cell; those affected with 

 European foul brood are not so adhesive. This is important in 

 treating diseased colonies. A slight ropiness is sometimes found 

 in larvae affected with European foul brood. As long as no 

 decay is present, they are practically odorless; as decay sets in, 

 an odor of fermentation may be observed. 



