78 



" Isle of Wight " Disease of Bees. 



[Apr., 



''ISLE OF WIGHT" DISEASE OF BEES. 



The disease of bees called Isle of Wight " disease has 

 recently come into prominence on account of some interesting 

 papers that were read before the Eoyal Society of Edinburgh on 

 1st November, 1920, by Dr. J. Rennie, and his collaborators, 

 Miss Elsie J.Harvey, and Mr. P. Bruce V\^hite, B.Sc, on their 

 recent discovery in connection with this malady. Before dealing 

 with these papers, however, it will perhaps be as well to give a 

 rapid survey of the history and progress of this disease, and the 

 investigations that have been made into its cause since it first 

 appeared. 



The name " Isle of Wight " w^as given to the disease because 

 the first serious outbreak occurred in that Island in 1904, since 

 when it has engaged the continuous attention both of the 

 Ministry and practical and scientific bee-keepers. From 1904 

 to 1906 the disease spread slowly, but in the latter year its 

 progress became more rapid, until in 1907 practically the whole 

 Island was affected and bee-keeping there became an unprofitable 

 industry. 



The symptoms of the disease are as follows : — listlessness of 

 the bees; dislocation of one or both posterior wings, and disten- 

 sion of the abdomen ; the staining of the alighting board 

 and combs with excreta of the consistency of putty; crowd- 

 ing of the bees on the outside of the hive. and. in severe cases, 

 owing to their inability to fly, crawling about in thousands on 

 the ground or ascending upright objects, and at times collecting 

 in small clusters eventually to die. 



Many theories in earlier times have been advanced as to the 

 •cause of the disease, inchiding infection from poisonous plants, 

 from tar spraying of the roads, from spraying fruit trees and 

 potatoes, from damaged pollen collected and eaten by the bees, 

 inbreeding, want of ventilation, fungi, yeasts, artificial feeding, 

 and modern methods of bee-keeping. In 1907, at the request 

 of the Board. Mr. A. D. Imms, B.A., Cambridge University, 

 carried out an investigation of the disease in the Isle of Wight 

 itself. He came to the conclusion that it w^as due to 

 digestive trouble, and gave an account of his investigations 

 in this Journal in June, 1907. Shortly afterw^ards Mr. 

 Imms went to India, and his work of investigation was con- 

 tinued by Dr. Graham Smith, in conjunction with the late Dr. 

 Maiden, of Cambridge University. They reported that all the 



