BEEKEEPING IN COLORADO 11 



Bacteria Cause American and European Foulbrood: White* has 

 clearly demonstrated that the three brood diseases of bees known as 

 American and European foulbrood and sacbrood are caused by bac- 

 teria. The bacteria may be isolated and the diseeffie transmitted in the 

 laboratory as we]^ as in the field, sacbrood according to his investi- 

 gations is a filterable virus. 



Each disease develops symptoms peculiar to itself. The only sure 

 way of determining the kind of disease is through a microscopical 

 examination. If the beekeeper finds diseased brood and does not know 

 what it is, he can cut out a sample and send it to the State Apiary 

 Inspector. 



SYMPTOMS OF AMERICAN FOULBROOD 



In case sufficient numbers of the bacillus foulbrood gain entrance 

 to the alimentary tract of the young bee brood, American foulbrood 

 is bound to result. When these extremely small germs are given to the 

 brood they "multiply very rapidly and produce a poison which is 

 fatal to the brood. When the brood dies, the germs do not die, but 

 remain in the decomposing matter ready to contaminate any further 

 brood they may reach. Because of their large numbers, vitality and 

 small size they are easily spread. 



Odor: Amerioan foulbrood develops the characteristic sickening 

 odor. This odor is distinctive, sometimes called the glue-pot odor, and 

 is strongest in brood dead for several weeks. 



Ropiness: Brood that has been dead several weeks decomposes 

 to a coffee-brown mass on the lower side of the cell. In this stage if 

 a toothpick, match or a, similar probe be inserted in the mass and 

 drawn slowly out, the mass can be strung out from one to three inches 

 before, breaking. In time this mass will dry down and form a scale 

 which adheres to the lower side of the cell wall. 



Age: Brood is only infected during the feeding stage. Death us- 

 ually comes during the last two days preceding pupation or sometimes 

 during the first two days of the pupal period. 



Cappiiigs: The eappings of infected brood cells darken and be- 

 come sunken as a consequence of the decaying matter within. When 

 the time comes for the brood to hatch normally, the attendant bees 

 gnaw a small hole through the eappings to investigate, resulting in 

 the "pepperbox" appearance. 



Vigor of the germ : The germ exists in a series of stages, conver- 

 tible into each other, and called the vegatative condition, the motile 



»G. F. White— Sacbrood : BuUetin 431, U. S. Dept. of Agr,, 1917. 

 American Foulbrood : BuUetin 809, U. S. Dept. of Agr., 1920. 

 European Foulbrood : Bulletin 810, U. S. Dept. of Agr., 1920. 



