April, ’23] 
FRACKERI ISLE-OF-WRIGHT DISEASE 
133 
PROTECTING AMERICAN BEES AGAINST THE INTRODUCTION 
OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT DISEASE 
By S. B. Fracker, Madison , Wis., C. B. Gooderham, Ottawa, Canada , and 
Geo. H. Rea, Reynoldsville, Pa. 
Abstract 
Legislation to prevent the introduction of the “Isle of Wight” disease in America 
has been enacted during the summer in both the United States and Canada, following 
a series of conferences and suitable publicity, the bill being finally drawn so as to 
regulate the importation of all honey bees. The bill is reprinted in the paper. 
Legislation to prevent the introduction of the Acarine or “Isle of 
Wight” disease into America has been enacted during the past summer 
in both the United States and Canada. The leading part in the adop¬ 
tion of this legislation was taken by the section on apiculture of this 
association in cooperation with the Bureau of Entomology, United 
States Department of Agriculture. 
Since its discovery in 1904 on the Isle of Wight, this disease spread 
with comparative rapidity and recently had become the most feared of 
all known maladies of the honey bee. Its ravages at the place of dis¬ 
covery were soon duplicated in other parts of the British Isles and be¬ 
fore 1920, the rate of mortality of infected colonies was believed to be 
one hundred per cent. Alarm at the manner in which the infection was 
spreading and the rate at which diseased apiaries were being wiped out 
resulted in extensive investigations to determine the cause. 
On November 1, 1920, Dr. John Rennie of Aberdeen, Scotland, 
announced the discovery of a mite parasitic in the respiratory tract of 
infected bees, which proved to be constantly associated with this disease. 
The mite was described as a new species and given the name Tarsonemus 
woodi, later being placed by Hirst in a new genus, Acarapis. 
Previous belief that the “Isle of Wight” disease was caused by a 
protozoon, Nosema apis , of world-wide distribution, and that its viru¬ 
lence was due to some environmental condition in the British Isles had 
lulled American Beekeepers to a sense of security. Dr. Rennie’s dis¬ 
covery changed the situation and investigations were carried on during 
1921 by the Bureau of Entomology to determine, first, whether the 
mites were present in the United States, and second, whether they 
could be imported in commercial shipments of queen bees and their 
attendants. As a result the mite has thus far not been found on the 
American continent, but, in the case of an experimental shipment of 
bees from Scotland, they survived a transatlantic trip, showing con¬ 
clusively that their introduction in this way is possible. 
The presentation of these facts to the apicultural section of the Ameri- 
