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Disease of Bees. 



[JUNE, 



If a badly diseased bee be carefully examined it will be 

 seen to have lost its power of flight, and it crawls about with the 

 hinder extremity of the body dragging on the ground ; frequently 

 it walks about with its wings " out of joint," the hind wings 

 protruding obliquely upwards and above the anterior pair. 

 The only other external symptom of the disease is seen in the 

 abdomen, which is frequently distended beyond its normal 

 proportions. This distension, however, is not by any means 

 constant, and was chiefly noticed in the case of the native bee ; 

 in the half-breed with the Italian bee, with its longer and 

 slightly more slender abdomen, no unusual distension could 

 be observed. 



The disease appears to differ from what is usually termed 

 " bee -paralysis," in that the infected individuals do not exhibit 

 the characteristic black and shiny appearance, and neither I 

 myself, nor any bee-keepers who have paid attention to the 

 disease, have observed the curious trembling motion of the 

 limbs and body which is regarded as a symptom of that disease. 



The disease appears to be entirely confined to the adult bees, 

 the brood remaining unaffected. I have conducted a micro- 

 scopical examination of a large number of eggs, larvae at all 

 stages of development, and pupae, and have failed to detect 

 anything of a pathological nature among the brood. All had 

 the characteristic pearly white appearance of healthy specimens 

 although belonging to a badly infected hive. The eggs were 

 undergoing development and showed not the slightest trace of 

 discolouration or shrivelling, the larvae were healthy in every 

 way and were coiled up in their normal attitude, and nothing 

 wrong could be detected with the pupae or the newly hatched 

 bees. 



A number of hives have been examined which have been 

 completely destroyed by the disease, and the last remnant of 

 the colony to die was in each instance found grouped together 

 around the queen. That the queen is almost the last member 

 of a hive to succumb is also in accordance with the experience 

 of bee-keepers in the island. 



Affected stocks examined in early spring show symptoms 

 similar to those of dysentery. The bees discharge their ex- 

 crements over the combs and on the sides, floor, and alighting 

 board of the hive, and the dry faeces take the form of a long streak 



