; THE OCCURRENCE OF DISEASES OF ADULT BEES. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 3 



Isle of Wight disease 3 



Studies as to its cause 3 



Search for Isle of Wight disease in the 



United States 5 



Introduction through queen-mailing 



cages 6 



Means of preventing introduction 7 



Nosema disease 9 



Distribution by years 10 



Distribution by months 11 



Geographical distribution 11 



Prevention of spread 12 



Arsenical poisoning 12 



Negative results 13 



Literature cited 15 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE DISEASES to which adult honeybees are subject have from 

 time to time been discussed in the American beekeeping litera- 

 ture, but so far there has been no serious and widespread out- 

 break of any such trouble and not much work has been done in this 

 country on the causes of these diseases. Because of the possibility 

 of the introduction and establishment in the United States of another 

 disease of adult bees which seems to be serious in its nature, it seems 

 best at this time to publish the information at hand regarding the- 

 apparent absence of this disease in the United States. The purpose 

 of this paper is to discuss the status of adult bee diseases, without 

 reference to the details of work as to their causes. A list of citations 



is appended. 



ISLE OF WIGHT DISEASE. 



Isle of Wight disease is evidently a serious source of loss to bee- 

 keepers of the British Isles. It was first observed in 1904 in the Isle 

 of Wight, hence the name, and in succeeding years it has spread with 

 considerable rapidity to all parts of Great Britain. Because of the 

 large losses from this disease reported by British beekeepers, it has 

 been the subject of investigation by several workers for a number of 

 years. It has been called acarine disease in England, from the 

 order name (Acarina) of the mite which causes it. 



Studies as to the cause. — At first a study was made of bacteria in 

 the alimentary tract of the diseased bees, but this proved valueless 

 in determining the cause. Later work indicated that the malady 

 was due to the pathogenic action of Nosema apis (-5, 6, 7, 8), 1 a proto- 



Reference is made by number (italic) to "Literature cited," p. 15 

 92150°— 22 



