The Bee Louse 7 



way described by Losy. The liquid portion of the diet could not be 

 identified from the smears. 



It seems to be almost the unanimous opinion of beekeepers of 

 European countries that Braula occurs in weak colonies and espe- 

 cially in those not properly housed and cared for. It is also stated 

 {20) that it is more abundant in poor seasons. Emphasis is always 

 placed on the necessity of keeping the hives, and especially the 

 bottom boards, clean, and obviously these precautions are not taken 

 except by the best beekeepers. The question arises, therefore, 

 whether the weakness of colonies containing Braula is the cause or 

 result of the infestation. If we look on Braula merely as an unde- 

 sirable commensal, its damage would probably be slight, although 

 the bees usually seem to make little effort to remove it. If it is 

 actually, as claimed by Losy, a parasite of highly specialized habit, 

 then it may be a dangerous parasite to the welfare of the colony. 

 Since in the one case where this insect has been observed in the 

 United States it does not seem to be causing much damage, the 

 extreme view of Losy would not seem to be supported, 



An interesting discussion of Braula in the infested areas is given 

 in a private conimunication (January 12, 1924) from Dr. Ludwig- 

 Arnhart of the Osterreichische Imkerschule, Vienna, who says in 

 part: 



As far as my own experience and knowledge go, Braula becomes harmful 

 only if found in large numbers in the hive. A single one will not injure the 

 queen, the worker, or the drone. The last is attacked the least. They are 

 most frequently found on queens, which are weakened to a great extent by large 

 numbers of these lice and perish easily during the winter season. 



NUMBER OF BRAULA FOUND ON ONE BEE 



It appears that usually there is not more than one Braula on each 

 worker bee, although there may be more on the queen bee, if, as 

 described by Losy, there is a migration from the workers to the queen 

 at the close of brood rearing. This might partially account for the 

 wide discrepancy in the reports on this subject. Assmuss (4) states 

 that in his experience there is usually only one to a bee, but that 

 they may occur in much greater numbers. They occur on workers, 

 drones, and especially on queens. Hammer {18) reports taking 

 187 Braula from a queen and at a later date 64 from tho same queen. 

 Cheshire {10) reports removing 6 from a queen in England; Cook 

 {12) reports that Benton has taken as many as 10 from a single bee; 

 Kramer and Theiler {20) report that as many as 60 have been taken 

 from a single queen; Benton {5) reports having removed as many as 

 75 from a queen at one time ''although ordinarily the numbers do 

 not exceed a dozen"; while Marboud {26) reports that he took off 

 31, the next day 33, two days later 43, and continued until he had 

 removed a total of 371. 



Tinun {36) questions the accuracy of these extravagant statements. 

 The bee louse is relatively large in proportion to the size of the 

 honeybee and it would seem impossible for a queen to carry such 

 great numbers as those reported. He expresses the belief that these 

 observers have mistaken either mites or triungulin larvae of Meloe 

 for Braula, although there would seem to be little excuse for such an 

 error. It is certainly the case that Braula usually occurs singly on 



