WAX MOTHS AND AMEKICAN FOUL BROOD. 21 
larval feces and scales in about equal proportion by volume. On ac- 
count of the reduction of the photograph the scales do not appear 
plainly; nevertheless, this demonstrates what becomes of the scales 
of American foul brood in a set of combs destroyed by Galleria mel- 
lonella. A few scales arc seen placed on a card resting on the mass of 
feces and scales. 
Mr. Burton N. Gates, of this Bureau, took some of these scales and 
put them in a small box with small larvae of Galleria mellonella. 
The scales remained untouched and the larvae died, evidently of 
starvation. 
WORK OF THE LESSER WAX MOTH. 
i Ichroia grisella Fab.) 
Plate III is a photograph of a comb taken from a colony which had 
died of American foul brood. It was obtained by the author in June, 
190G, near Fillmore, Ventura Count} 7 , Cal.. and is of interest ;i- com- 
ing from an apiary which in less than two years had been reduced 
from about 200 colonies to 15 by the ravages of this disease. "When 
the apiary was visited there were 151 hives in place, and of these L36 
contained no bees. This comb was wrapped up and put away for 
future study, but became infested with Achroia grisella. Whether 
it contained eggs when taken in the apiary or whether the moths 
entered after the comb reached Washington is not known. 
It is obvious from this illustration that the larvae have not eaten 
the scales formed by dried-down larvae which died of American foul 
brood. This comb was not cleaned of webs and illustrates very nicely 
the characteristic Avork of this moth. 
After the photograph was taken the scales were picked out of the 
frame and this material was used in some of the inoculation experi- 
ments recorded in Circular No. 94; obviously, therefore, the material 
was still infectious. 
CONCLUSION. 
In the control of brood diseases of bees the constant reinfection of 
apiaries from diseased combs of colonies in a wild state is one of tin 1 
things which must be combated constant^. It is not difficult for a 
bee keeper to rid his own apiary of disease, but he must constantly 
watch for an introduction of the disease from wild bees or an adjoin 
ing apiary. If then the wax moths actually destroyed the infected 
combs of wild colonies or of colonies in the apiaries of careless bee 
keepers, they would be a benefit to the industry to that extent. Nat- 
urally if the moth larvae eat out everything except the scales and these 
drop to the bottom as shown in Plate II, they arc Less available to 
