# Diseases in Beekeeping; How to Identify and What They Look Like-Your Experince Wanted



## aunt betty

Have not seen it (AFB) myself. It concerns me that an inspector can order me to give a hive death by fire. Why? I live and keep bees in a city with very strict codes about any open fires. It's not legal to destroy a hive by fire where I live yet it's a law that the state can order it. That's a contradiction. 

If I am ever asked to destroy a colony I will dig the hole and toss the hive into the hole but the inspector is going to have to light the match. I can not do it legally. I'd make a video of the whole thing for when the EPA and city shows up with their ticket-books. I live right by the fire station and maybe they'd show up too. It would be a circus I'm betting.


----------



## TalonRedding

On American Foulbrood:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_zUXU9NI2Hg

Note: different states have different laws concerning hives with AFB, just as Aunt Betty stated.


----------



## HarryVanderpool

One thing about beekeeping;
Things are not always as they appear.
One needs to slow down and look closer.
One example is installation of mouse guards.
You will not realize how big of a pest mice are until the next year when you do your first hive inspection.
Here is an example of a reducer / mouse proofer.
Installed in the fall to keep that hive healthy!!











Here's another view. Doesn't it look great?


----------



## TalonRedding

Harry, good point on the mouse guards. However, I'm not sure because the pics are a bit grainy on my screen, but those little dots on your landing boards sure do look interesting.


----------



## wildbranch2007

chronic bee paralysis.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Unp1_Hq30

dead bees out front, for the squeamish don't watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LWyiJcUPEo

dead bees on end of frames and dying bees walking around because they don't know they are dead yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny_8FwGBYUI

third one cut short to kill hive beatle.

I treated this hive with fumidil drench and vitamin C every three days for a month. the hive survived last winter and is going fine now, no sign of the disease returning.


----------



## rbees

I think also Harry is using a little sarcasm about how important it is to keep mite populations down.


----------



## TalonRedding

rbees said:


> I think also Harry is using a little sarcasm about how important it is to keep mite populations down.


Lol I think he is too. He's keeping more than bees if you ask me. 
On a more serious note, I had a beginner beekeeper who keeps a couple hives call me the other day and ask why their bees were exhibiting behaviors that they'd never seen before. The behavior wasn't strange, as it was simply clustering due to our colder temperatures here lately. Anyways, through more conversation, I find out that this beekeeper didn't even know what varroa mites were. They had no idea of their existence and what they can do to a colony of bees. I gave this person a 5 minute crash course in varroa management and told them to do as much research as possible whether they wanted to treat or not (they didn't want to treat but be organic as possible). They weren't too concerned because they said that they didn't "see any mites on the bees", but the tune changed when I told them that the vast majority of mites are behind capped brood cells sucking hemolymph out of the developing pupae. This is just one more reason why I started this thread. There is a lot of innocent ignorance out there (and I don't mean that in a negative way) that will not only affect those individuals' hives, but also their neighbors and their neighbors' neighbors. 
Thanks for all the replies. Keep em' coming. :thumbsup:


----------



## DPBsbees

Download this useful app for your Android or IPhone thanks to the Alberta beekeepers. When you see something you don't understand you may find the answer here. It's free by the way. http://www.programs.alberta.ca/17713.aspx#ad-image-0


----------



## HarryVanderpool

I never get away with anything if rbees is around!!


----------



## sqkcrk

aunt betty said:


> Have not seen it (AFB) myself. It concerns me that an inspector can order me to give a hive death by fire. Why? I live and keep bees in a city with very strict codes about any open fires. It's not legal to destroy a hive by fire where I live yet it's a law that the state can order it. That's a contradiction.
> 
> If I am ever asked to destroy a colony I will dig the hole and toss the hive into the hole but the inspector is going to have to light the match. I can not do it legally. I'd make a video of the whole thing for when the EPA and city shows up with their ticket-books. I live right by the fire station and maybe they'd show up too. It would be a circus I'm betting.


If you have a place to dig a hole to burn your hive in the Inspector can get a permit allowing you to do so. One can also do a deep burial instead of burning.


----------



## Kamon A. Reynolds

Shoot if I get a case of AFB I will burn that colony to ashes. To me it is not worth the risk. AFB is rare but like humans with ebola, AFB can spread and infect quickly and once it has a solid foothold in the area can be devastating to large operations. Rumor has it some yahoo brought a AFB hive for show and tell at one of TN's bigger conferences a couple years ago. It did not go down well haha.


----------



## Michael Bush

Lots of pictures here:
http://agdev.anr.udel.edu/maarec/honey-bee-biology/honey-bee-parasites-pests-predators-and-diseases/


----------



## amullins

Here's a link to a key that I made awhile back with the intention to simplify diagnosis of diseases for the beginning and intermediate beekeeper. I know that it could use some work, but i'm hoping it could be useful to some in the meantime.

http://hivehealth.blogspot.com/


----------



## sqkcrk

Tennessee's Bees LLC said:


> Shoot if I get a case of AFB I will burn that colony to ashes. To me it is not worth the risk. AFB is rare but like humans with ebola, AFB can spread and infect quickly and once it has a solid foothold in the area can be devastating to large operations. Rumor has it some yahoo brought a AFB hive for show and tell at one of TN's bigger conferences a couple years ago. It did not go down well haha.


Which just shows how foolish people can be about some things. What was the problem? Did someone try to steal the comb to put in a beehive? Were people afraid that if they handled it with bare hands that they would carry spores home to their bees.

It is a lot less communicable then most people think.


----------



## arcowandbeegirl

Thank you Michael for posting the website with all of the pictures. How helpful!!


----------



## Cloverdale

sqkcrk said:


> Which just shows how foolish people can be about some things. What was the problem? Did someone try to steal the comb to put in a beehive? Were people afraid that if they handled it with bare hands that they would carry spores home to their bees.
> 
> It is a lot less communicable then most people think.


That is exactly what I think. The spores cannot be spread by hands? Just hive tools?


----------



## Michael Bush

I have been at a beekeeping meeting where they passed around an AFB comb so everyone could see what it smelled like. I don't think this is as unusual as you think.


----------



## Jameshoddy77

Hi maybe you can help unfortunately I don't have any pictures. Opened up my hive yesterday. Real mess had left three frames out and cross burr come all over. 

But that's not the problem. On the lid there was a clear jelly substance about 2 table spoons it was watery like un set jelly. The bees a strong and show no signed of disease. Changed out the lid and added a super. Any ideas?


----------



## clangen625

I checked on the hive 6 weeks ago everything seemed fine lots of bees. Checked the hive 3 weeks later and noticed that there was not as many bees as last time and some the frames lost all their honey stores on the tops of the bars. Seems like half the hive left. I found what i am pretty sure to still be the old queen. We checked the hive again I noticed one bee carrying out a mushy looking larva, so that concerned me also. 3 Bars had alot of dead pupa inside that were not even to the capped stage. Checked the hive on sunday. Queen still there. You can still see small larva, but nothing capped. Barely any capped brood. They look inverted. Im thinking AFB. We grabbed the 2 bars of honey because this hive has failed. Any ideas?


----------



## Dave Burrup

AFB larvae die after being capped.
EFB larvae die before being capped.
What you describe sounds like EFB or PMS parasitic mite syndrome.
Good Luck


----------



## chaye405

Hello all,

Can anyone advise what's going on here? I do not have this build up at the bottom hive entrance, only at this small opening in the inner cover. Hive seems to be large and healthy.

Thanks!


----------



## John Galt 1

chaye405 said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Can anyone advise what's going on here? I do not have this build up at the bottom hive entrance, only at this small opening in the inner cover. Hive seems to be large and healthy.
> 
> Thanks!


Old thread I know but if the staining in the picture in the post above is wax that may be a sign of bees from anouther hive raiding your hive.


----------



## JWPalmer

That is not wax, it is bee poop. Hive may have a case of dysentery from noseama a., or just a long time between cleansing flights. Did your hive have that too? Maybe it wasn't mites.


----------



## Michael Bush

There is a reason it's called "propolis". It's Greek for "before the city". That is propolis.


----------



## John Galt 1

JW, No, I'm not seeing any signs of dysentery. Between the new queen, no brood (my other box has some brood), and the limited number of small bees I suspect my queen died last fall after she had started some "winter bees" and was replaced with a dud queen.

I built some swarm traps and plan on trying my luck this spring.


----------



## wndale21

Is this AFB?


----------



## crofter

Picture is not clear enough. Is there any capped brood area with opened cells. EFB larvae mostly die before capping stage, AFB afterwards. Really from what I can see it looks a bit like pollen. If that is a typical frame of the brood area, it is being backfilled with nectar.

Below is a couple pics of EFB


----------



## wndale21

Thanks. The hive swarmed two weeks ago. I was in it this morning doing an inspection. There's no capped larvae at this time and I didn't see any larvae or eggs but it was early so I didn't have good light. Thanks for the input.


----------



## crofter

wndale21 said:


> Thanks. The hive swarmed two weeks ago. I was in it this morning doing an inspection. There's no capped larvae at this time and I didn't see any larvae or eggs but it was early so I didn't have good light. Thanks for the input.


Depending on weather for mating flights etc., you could expect several weeks after swarm before you see any new brood in a swarmed colony. That is providing the new queen successfully returned from mating. The first eggs are not easy to spot but developing larvae are. Keep an eye on them to ensure you do have a laying queen, otherwise they will become a "laying worker" colony.


----------



## schmism

This spring all 3 of my hives that overwintered showed signs of EFB. Being in IL I am able to call my local IL bee inspector and have him come out to review the hives. He took samples and confirmed EFB. I have 4 hives that I have put my third treatment on last sunday. The strongest of the hives showed no signs of continued infection by the second treatment 5 days later. Full patterns of fat C's were found in cells with no slumped larve or missing larve. The sickest of the hives have been slower to respond to the treatment but at last check the areas the queen was laying looked good and clear patterns. 

I still have quite a few questions on the treatment of EFB if anyone has dealt with this for a longer period of time.

PS ive been keeping bees since 2008 and this is my first year to ever see EFB in person or have to deal with it personally.


----------



## wildbranch2007

schmism said:


> I still have quite a few questions on the treatment of EFB if anyone has dealt with this for a longer period of time.


two stickies on it, here is one https://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?354293-EFB-options


----------

