BEELINES April, 2004

Regularly scheduled meetings are on the 2^nd Tuesday of each month. 7 p.m.
Meetings at 1305 Pine Avenue in Snohomish in the Christ the King Lutheran Church building.

Next Meeting: Tuesday April 13

Dates to Remember
Apr 13: April NWDBA Meeting
May 11: May NWDBA Meeting
June 4-5: WSU Picnic
Oct 14-16: WSBA Fall Conference (Spokane)

February Meeting report
by John Bryant

Jamie Strange, from the WSU Dept of Entomology, gave a talk on The Forgotten Bee Diseases.  He spoke about the symptoms and treatments of American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood, Nosema, Chalkbrood, Sacbrood, and Viral diseases.  He concluded with general techniques to keep bee diseases under control -  choose resistant or tolerant bee stocks, work with clean, well maintained equipment, rotate old frames and wax from operation, keep colonies healthy and populous, keep colonies well fed with both a carbohydrate and protein source, keep mites at low levels, use medication when necessary, and re-queen colonies with disease symptoms.  There was no business meeting.

See below for the full details!

April Program
Mel Loomis will be providing his dahlia bulbs for sale again at the April meeting.  These are all bulbs grown and nurtured by Mel and will be a beautiful addition to your garden!  Proceeds will benefit beekeeping research so come and check them out!

We will also get an update from the Evergreen State Fair Committee planning an increased presence by beekeepers at the fair this year.

March Beekeeping
Register your hives with the Department of Agriculture.  March 1 –15, open hive and check honey stores to be sure there are at least four combs of honey in the hive.  Feed syrup if there is less than two combs.  Clean the hive bottom board.  Mouse guards may be removed about mid month.  If colonies are 10 to 12 combs of bees, begin comb rotation – two or three combs with young brood and eggs to center of bottom box and empty combs to sides of brood (next to honey) in second box.  If colony is 12 to 15 frames of bees with four to six combs of brood, add the first honey super over a queen excluder.

April Beekeeping
Put Terramycin medicated patties over the brood rearing area, or between the two boxes if you have 12-14 frames of bees.   Continue comb rotation.    Make sure there are enough honey stores or feed your bees.  Hives should have at least one full frame of pollen and several frames of honey.  If hive is light, feed the bees a 1:1 sugar syrup mixture.  Feed pollen supplement if necessary.  If the colony is continuing to build up add a honey super every three weeks until June 1 (= 3 deeps or equivalent in westerns = 4-5 deeps of bees by June 1).

May Beekeeping
If you need more drawn comb, give the bees full sheets of foundation to draw out.  Add no more than two or three frames of foundation at a time to the center of the upper hive body.  Never divide the brood nest with foundation, alternate foundation between combs of brood.  Queens should now be laying at full capacity.  Honey yields will be greater if swarming is controlled by removing swarm cells that contain eggs or larvae on the bottom or any edges of the comb.

The Forgotten Bee Diseases

notes by John Bryant

Jamie Strange, WSU Dept of Entomology

Mites have pushed other diseases to the back. Not much research done on these other diseases because treatment has been created.  Strains of foulbrood are resistant to terramycin. 

These other disease seen to cluster together

American Foul brood

Very preventable bacterial disease without use of antibiotics (research in France with strict regulations on use of antibiotics) incidence in France much less than in America due to cleaner practices in France.  Worked with 800 colony keeper who had no incidences of American foul brood.  Smell is first symptom noticed, from rotting larvae.  Do not use old frames, as spore builds up.  Cell caps are concave, typically dark with small holes.  After removing capping, you will notice that larvae are dark and sticky.  Can be pierced with twig, if removed slowly, you will get a 2 inch rope of larval guts.  Advanced infestation will have shotgun brood pattern in addition to smell.  Will not always kill colony first year, but will likely kill it second year.  Some states require you to burn bees and colony, other just hives and frames.  WSU sends entire colony to landfill.  Treatment with antibiotics suppresses disease, but create a build up of spores.  When antibiotic treatment is stopped, spores explode.  Need to change management system when stopping antibiotics.  Now is new chemical test for 12.95 if the twig test is too much for you.

 Prevention – scorch wood ware, fire or lye, use clean wax and wood, eliminate dark wax, remove infected colony immediately.   Terramycin at 200 mg/colony applied in spring or fall (not during honey flow).   Work with stocks that are resistant to AFB, research was abandoned with chemical solution.  Q about hygenic lines being meaner, Q about when are colonies destroyed, A - marked night before, frames garbaged in the morning.

 European foul brood

Another bacterial disease seen in mid to late spring, clears up when honey flows. Rarely leads to colony death, but leads to reduced honey flow.   Symptoms are sour odor, larva die before the cell is capped, slight ropiness but grainy, less than 2 in, larvae will twist , If capped, caps are dark with concave caps and holes in cap.  Scales form in cell and are the vector of infection.  Treatment, wait for honey flow, feed them, re-queen, treat with Terramycin.

Nosema disease

Protozoan disease, cause adults to suffer from dysentery, seen in late winter or early spring,  Reduce lifespan 22 –44 %.  Implicated in queen supercedure

Symptoms – defecation on and around hive, frames in brood chamber often with diarrhea like frass on top boards.  Colony population decrease quickly in spring, can lead to colony loss.  Bees with distended abdomens, disjointed wings and lack of stinging reflex.  Positive identification is done by dissection. Treat in fall or spring with fumidol B applid3ede at 100mg/ in 2:1 syrup minimum 2 doses in autumn.  Management of colonies to reduce the effects, clean colonies, overwinter strong colonies, choose good apiary sites good airflow and winter sun exposure, good nutrition both nectar and pollen. Work with clean equipment.

 Chalkbrood

Pervasive fungal disease, white, black mummies around hive, spotty brood pattern open cells with mummies.  Treatment- work with clean equipment, good ventilation to reduce moisture.  Avoid feeding pollen which is contaminated with mummies, Maintain strong colonies free from other diseases, work with bee stocks that are resistant to chalkbrood.

Hygenic bees are resistant to chalkbrood.

Sacbrood

Not seen viral disease too much,  a minor disease.  Symptom in late winter, partially uncapped cells, cells contain darkened individual heads, can be removed whole and intact, larvae do not pupate (distinct head) are killed by disease

Viral disease

Varroa mites seem to be a factor in these

• Bee paralysis disease

• Chronic bee paralysis

• Acute bee paralysis

To keep bee diseases under control

• Choose resistant or tolerant bee stocks

• Work with clean well maintained equipment, rotate old frames and wax from operation

• Keep colonies healthy and populous

• Keep colonies well fed with both  a carbohydrate and protein source

• Re-queen colonies with disease symptoms

• Keep mites at low levels (sample for mites constantly)

• Check brood area to insure outbreaks are prevented

• Use medication when necessary, following label directions

• Kill if necessary