# Black, Skinny bees



## Axtmann (Dec 29, 2002)

This can be a very danger disease and comes from a virus called CPV - Chronic Paralysis Virus = black disease. It is very infectious and you should keep an eye on it. 
The Bees loosing their hairs than getting paralyzed and die; Scientists are not sure where this comes from, they guess is from Varroa or Nosema or a mixture of both.
http://www.vita-europe.com/disease/misc.htm


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## [email protected] (Apr 15, 2004)

Mr. Axtman...an update. Today we squashed several of these sick bees, but they really were hard to get ahold of and could fly still. We opened our next hive and found more of the sickness. However, we think it may be related to using liquid smoke (I posted more details in the Bee Forum). The bees seem to look fine and then when sprayed with the liquid smoke they become "blackish, hairless, and greasy" looking. There are no other signs of disease (no spotting, no mites, no lethargic bees, no large amounts of dead bees). Any thoughts?


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## Axtmann (Dec 29, 2002)

Well there are several possibilities why you find so many black bees. If the bees are infected with the CPV virus they most coming black out the cells. Open a couple of cells right before the young bee will hatch and if you find black bees your hive is infected.
A reason to have black bees is the age of the bees, old bees, 45 days or more, loosing their hair and getting black. 
I never used liquid smoke, but this can also be the reason for the black bees. As soon as you spray anything and bees getting wet they mostly loosing hairs. Bees clean each other and whatever beekeepers dripping or spraying is hard on bees and its shortened there live. 
This can be liquid smoke, liquid oxalic acid, any kind of oil spray Vaseline or other things beekeeper use. Bees cleaning each other and all this products end up in their stomach.
When you using liquid smoke dont hold it to close to the bees, if its the same stuff like we can buy here, it says no harm to bees as long as bees get NOT WET.


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