Adventures in Organic Gardening

Still studying for the Apprentice Beekeeper Exam!

Previous Study Guide Posts:

American Foulbrood
European Foulbrood
Nosema
Chalkbrood
Sacbrood
Parasitic Mite Syndrome

Finally! A disease that can’t be mistaken for half a dozen other diseases! The name is fairly self explanatory.

According to the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, symptoms include “twisted, shriveled wings, bloated abdomens, decreased body size, and discoloration”.

Like Parasitic Mite Syndrome, Deformed wing virus is brought in by Varroa. Yet another reason to keep that Varroa population under control.

Helpful Link about Deformed Wing Virus

Our study session marches onward. Here is the study guide for the apprentice level exam for the Texas Master Beekeeper Program.

Previous Study Guide Posts:

American Foulbrood
European Foulbrood
Nosema
Chalkbrood
Sacbrood

What causes PMS isn’t really known. What is true, though, is that this disease is correlated with the presence of Varroa mites. So, it seems logical to me that this is something that rides in on the back of mites and infects the hive.

Just another reason to work diligently to keep the mite population in check in your hive. (Unlike the people I met recently who didn’t want to put “anything unnatural” in their hives and therefore had never treated for Varroa. They’d been keeping bees for four years and had yet to have a hive survive winter. Coincidence? I think not. But I digress.)

The more I’m studying all of these diseases, the more they sound a little like each other. Also, good beekeeping practices sound like they go a long way toward avoiding, reducing and eliminating every one of them.

Texas Apiary Inspection Service link on Parasitic Mite Syndrome

Studying continues for the Apprentice Beekeeper Exam. Here is the study guide.

Previous articles in this series include: European Foulbrood, American Foulbrood, Nosema and Chalkbrood.

Next on the hit parade of bee diseases is Sacbrood. Fortunately this one isn’t as disasterous as the others we’ve studied so far.

Sacbrood is caused by a virus that the adult bees pass along to the larvae. The Texas Apiary Inspection Service says it is “not a source of major concern for beekeepers”.

The virus kills the larvae, which then die…then the bees that go to clean up the cells eat the infected larvae, which then passes along the virus. And so it goes.

There isn’t a remedy for it except that it usually clears up on its own once the nectar starts flowing. The best prevention is keeping strong healthy colonies. Sound familiar?

Here is a helpful link about Sacbrood.

The fourth honey bee disease on the list for the Apprentice Level Exam for the Texas Master Beekeeper Program is Chalkbrood.

Chalkbrood isn’t as scary as American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood and Nosema. Chalkbrood is a fungal disease. There isn’t really a treatment for it, but the bees usually get rid of it through their normal hygenic behavior. Cases are usually seen in springtime especially when it’s damp and cool. The name comes from how the dead larvae get all white and chalky and swell to fill the cell in which they’re located.

Adult bees clean up the chalkbrood and get rid of the disease. In fact, the white mummies fall to the bottom board of the hive where you can see them. If it seems to be persistent, requeen for better stock that will keep things nice and tidy in the hive.

So there you go! Next: Sacbrood!

Here are a couple of helpful links:
Texas Apiary Inspection Service Article on Chalkbrood
Helpful YouTube Video on Chalkbrood

I’m really glad that on the study guide for the Texas Master Beekeeper Apprentice Level Study Guide that they put honey bee diseases as the first section. It’s really upsetting to study all of the various things that can wreak havoc with our precious hives, so I’m eager to plow through this and get on to studying more about these fascinating creatures.

Previously we looked at American Foulbrood, and then European Foulbrood.

Next on our hit parade of bee maladies is the dreaded Nosema. There are many different species of Nosema (different strains affect different insects), but only two that affect honeybees. Nosema Apis, and Nosema Cerana. The latter has only affected European honeybees only recently. Cerena is more damaging and kills bees faster than Apis.

Nosema is a disease of the gut. It’s the result of a microsporidian parasite that gets ingested by the bees and damages their digestive ability. It’s generally always around, but the hive can run into trouble during the times of year that conditions are ripe for Nosema to build up inside the hive and therefore more readily become ingested by the bee population.

Besides a generally sluggish colony just not doing well, signs you can keep an eye out for when thinking of Nosema include a number of things. Bees crawling around on the ground in front of the hive can suggest Nosema. The condition known as “K Wing” where the two sets of wings spread out and suggest the letter “K” on top of the bee is also something to watch for. Probably the biggest and most obvious tell tale sign for Nosema is fecal staining on the outside surface of your hive. It looks like brown or yellow drips. The bees get dysentery as they are infected with Nosema. Nosema seems to peak in late winter when the bees haven’t been able to take cleansing flights out of the hive and the spores just build up and build up.

The only way to absolutely diagnose Nosema conclusively is with a microscopic examination.

The standard treatment for Nosema is to feed syrup mixed with fumagillin. I did find an interesting article by Randy Oliver that talked about a drench treatment as well.

Here is a good video on the subject.

Next: Chalkbrood!