2 CIRCULAR 3 92, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



IMPORTANCE OF BEE DISEASES AND THEIR 

 RECOGNITION 



Bee diseases are found throughout the United States wherever bees 

 are kept. These diseases cause large annual losses in bees, honey, and 

 equipment and very materially add to the cost of honey production. 

 Even greater financial losses can result when the field force of pollinat- 

 ing bees is reduced, with consequent lower yield of seed and fruit. 

 Unless bee diseases are recognized and controlled, individual colonies 

 or even entire apiaries may be seriously weakened or destroyed. 



It is important that beekeepers recognize bee diseases in their 

 early stages so that they can apply proper methods of treatment, 

 since practically all the diseases are more or less contagious and can 

 spread from diseased to healthy colonies. Some of the diseases cause 

 only slight losses, and can, to a certain extent, be disregarded. Others, 

 however, are serious, and prompt treatment is required to prevent 

 their spread. Consequently it is necessary that the beekeeper be able 

 to recognize even the less serious diseases so as not to confuse them 

 with the serious ones. The symptoms of sacbrood and European 

 foulbrood, for instance, are often confused with those of American 

 i'oulbroocl. Furthermore, American foulbrood may be mistaken for 

 European foulbrood, and if the usual treatment for the latter is 

 applied, the disease not only will not be arrested but is likely to 

 spread to healthy colonies. 



In recent years new bee diseases have been discovered. One of 

 these, parafoulbrood, a serious brood disease, at present appears to 

 exist only in limited sections of the South. It is highly desirable 

 to prevent the further spread of these newly discovered diseases and, 

 consequently, beekeepers should learn to differentiate them from the 

 other more widely distributed diseases. 



There are also a number of abnormal conditions of bees that at 

 times cause heavy losses and can easily be confused with some of 

 the diseases. It has recently been found that nectar or pollen, or 

 both, from certain plants may cause the poisoning of brood and adult 

 bees. Then, too, the symptoms of poisoning or other abnormal con- 

 ditions of bees, such as chilling, starvation, or the presence of brood 

 of infertile queens or laying workers, can easily be confused with 

 the symptoms of some of the diseases. 



BROOD DISEASES 



What to Observe When Looking for Brood Diseases 



To identify the brood diseases, any dead brood found in the cells 

 should be examined carefully. The appearance of the combs may 

 indicate which brood disease is present, but final diagnosis should 

 always depend upon the symptoms shown by the dead brood. Dead 

 brood in open cells can be seen clearly if a comb is held so inclined 

 that the direct light of the sun falls on the lower side and bottom 

 of the cells. If there is no dead brood in the open cells, any sunken, 

 discolored, or punctured cappings should be removed and these cells 

 examined for dead brood. 



