Isle of Wight Disease in Hive Bees. 45 
6. Pulped 27 chyle-stomachs of Welsh driven bees, which were hived 
to-day in Desswood apiary (29th September 1915), and examined twelve 
drops for Nosema. Result: Negative. 
Numerous further tests of this nature have been made, and in every case 
where Nosema was known from previous experience to be present in the 
collection from which the bees were taken, Nosema spores were found. 
As early as 1913 we had become doubtful of the conclusion that Nosema 
apis stood in direct causal relation to Isle of Wight disease. From February 
of that year we regularly examined bees for Mosema spores, especially any 
that crawled or seemed sickly. We found such spores very frequently, 
particularly in old bees and not necessarily in association with unusual 
mortality in a stock. We have found bees with a heavy spore infection able 
to fly perfectly and even to carry loads of pollen and nectar. We have had 
under observation for three years, 1913-1915, a stock of Ligurians, G9 (Nicolson 
Apiary), which has stood in proximity to several of the forementioned stocks 
throughout their periods of crawling. This stock has never displayed any 
noticeable crawling symptoms. Yet all the time Nosema has been present in 
it, sometimes in enormous quantities (see PJ. I. fig. 4—a microphotograph, 
taken in the present year, of the colon contents of an apparently healthy bee 
from this stock). 
It is significant that, while G9 contained Nosema over a prolonged period, 
it failed in any marked way to infect the apiary generally. We have not 
found Nosema distributed in the bees of all the stocks, but only in a few 
stocks at any one time, and where it occurred, Isle of Wight disease was not 
present. 
History of certain Stocks in Lewis—with special reference to the alleged 
connection between Nosema apis and Isle of Wight Disease. 
We visited Bayble on 7th May 1914, and took samples of a stock of bees 
which had no history of crawling. Spores of Nosema were found in several 
of the bees, the infection being very heavy in a number of cases. On 4th 
September, when again visited and examined, this stock was in a highly . 
prosperous condition ; it filled the brood box of ten combs and crowded also 
a super of ten shallow frames filled with honey. On 14th August 1915, this 
stock was still prosperous and had never shown any crawling symptoms. 
Sample bees from this stock were taken in September, and these were found 
to be free from spores. Twenty bees were examined: these were lively, 
vigorous, and flew readily after two days in transit. The chyle-stomachs of 
