Content
Beekeepers have to pay a lot of attention to the health of bee colonies. Among the list of the most dangerous diseases, foulbrood diseases occupy a special place. They have a detrimental effect on the brood, negatively affect the condition of the entire family, and reduce the quality of honey. How to identify foulbrood in bees in time and how to cure insects will be discussed below.
General description of the disease
Foulbrood is a brood disease, although its effects extend to the entire colony. The disease affects worker bees, the queen bee, and prepupae. Once brood infection has occurred, beekeepers notice holes in the lids. After the death of the larvae, a specific smell of rot mixed with the smell of wood glue is felt.
A decrease in productivity is not part of the beekeeper’s plans, so you should familiarize yourself in advance with the description of the problem and methods of getting rid of it. Foulbrood of bees is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus larvae. Spores of pathogenic microorganisms are a source of disease for bees.The activity of bacteria continues for many years; their viability in particles of dead larvae is up to 30 years.
Bacterial spores enter the intestines of the larvae if it eats contaminated food. Forager bees, in which spores remain on the mouthparts or paws, can also be carriers of the infection. The incubation period lasts from 2 to 7 days. For the very first 3 days, the bee larva is protected from foulbrood by milk and its bactericidal properties. The spores are then unable to develop due to the high concentration of sugars in the larva's intestines. In a sealed cell, the bee larva lives from accumulated nutrients. When the sugar content drops to 2.5%, the active development of pathogen spores begins. This happens from 10 to 16 days.
The death of the larva from the foulbrood occurs when it enters the prepupa stage and the cell is sealed. Then the color of the larva changes to brown, the smell of rotting appears, and the cell cap goes down following the head. If you pull the mass from the cell with a match, it resembles thin long threads.
Treating foulbrood bees is very difficult. This is due to the fact that the pathogen persists in hives, soil, bee land, equipment, and honey reserves. Therefore, beekeepers cannot relax. Even after the family has been cured, the infection suddenly flares up again and requires new efforts to combat.
Varieties
The disease is divided into varieties according to the decreasing degree of danger of infection of the larvae:
- American Foulbrood. Another name is closed brood foulbrood. The most dangerous species for bees.
- European Foulbrood. This is an open brood disease. The degree of danger is slightly reduced compared to the American one.
- Paragnilets. The second name is false foulbrood. A less dangerous type of bacterial infection of bees.
It should be said that the division is a bit symbolic. Bees should be treated for foulbrood in all cases very efficiently.
How dangerous is the disease?
The main danger lies in the possibility of the infection spreading over a long distance and its difficulty in curing. The foulbrood easily moves even to neighboring apiaries, infecting new bee colonies. The peak of bee infection occurs in July; this month is the most comfortable for spores due to its temperature regime. Bacteria actively reproduce at + 37 °C.
This means that the disease has already spread to part of the brood. Bees remove the caps, but cannot completely remove the contents of the cell. Therefore, the next bookmark is placed in the neighboring ones. The combs have a mottled appearance, characteristic of affected brood.
American Foulbrood
In terms of danger, it ranks first among the varieties of the disease. Called malignant.
The loss of family productivity is about 80%, complete extinction occurs within 2 years. Paenibacillus larvae, the American foulbrood bacterium, is most active in late spring and summer. In this case, infected bee larvae die in closed cells. Foulbrood can infect any type of bee, but is harmless to humans and animals, which often serve as carriers of the pathogen.American foulbrood spores are resistant to adverse factors and influences and are able to live on plants, soil, and beekeeper’s tools for more than 7 years. On the corpses of dead larvae they remain viable for about 30 years.
Infection of bees is possible through an infected instrument or honey for feeding, through insects - beetles, moths, mites.
Bee larvae 5-6 days old are susceptible to the foulbrood pathogen. After defeat, they die, rot and turn into a viscous mass with a specific odor that resembles wood glue. The rapid spread of the disease destroys a large number of larvae. Without sufficient replenishment, the colony weakens, which can lead to the death of the entire bee family.
It is difficult to clean the cell from the putrefactive mass, so the queen refuses to stay in such combs.
European Foulbrood
The second type of disease. European foulbrood differs from American bees in that it affects larvae of open (unsealed) brood at the age of 3-4 days. If the infection develops strongly, sealed brood may also be affected.
The pathogen was studied in Europe, so this type of foulbrood is called European. Affected individuals lose segmentation (division) and change color to straw yellow. Next, a sour smell appears, the corpse acquires a viscous consistency, then dries out. It is easier to remove a dead larva than with an American type of infection. European foulbrood can attack queen or drone larvae. The peak of the spread of the disease occurs in spring and summer. The incidence rate decreases slightly during the honey harvest period. Bees clean cells more actively.
It is possible to accurately determine the type of bee disease only through laboratory testing, where part of the foundation with sick or dead larvae is transferred.
The level of danger of foulbrood infection increases significantly if the rules for caring for bees and evidence are not followed:
- presence of dirt;
- poor insulation;
- old honeycombs containing pest spores.
The causative agents of European foulbrood are several types of bacteria:
- pluton streptococcal;
- streptococcal bee bacterium;
- Bacillus alveea;
- Plutonic bacterium.
They are resistant to different conditions, so they remain vital for a very long time. They die in honey after 3 hours, due to the strong antibacterial properties of the product. They are also destroyed by phenolic substances.
Paragnilets
Less dangerous look. Pararotten affects older larvae. Most often, the lesion occurs in high mountain areas with cold climates.
This variety differs from others in the state of the dead larvae. They:
- have no odor;
- dry quickly;
- the crusts are not intensely colored;
- corpses are easy to remove.
Brood death occurs in a sealed cell, much less often in an open cell. There are several main symptoms of bee disease:
- in sick pupae, motor activity increases;
- they take an unnatural position;
- sealed caps acquire a dark color and become convex;
- a cone-shaped depression is noticed in the center of the convexity;
- there is no hole inherent in the American foulbrood;
- dried pupae are easily removed from the cell.
To make a correct diagnosis, pay attention to the age of the affected larvae, smell and consistency.The final answer can only be obtained after laboratory tests.
How to treat bees for foulbrood
Rot diseases in bees cannot be cured without relocating colonies. For this purpose, disinfected hives with artificial foundation are used. This event is called a haul. To treat American foulbrood, bees are moved twice, but sequentially. There are two procedures for carrying out the distillation - with and without fasting:
- With fasting. First, you need to shake off all the bees from the frames into an empty hive, close the entrances with bars, and move it to a dark room. The purpose of fasting is the complete consumption of honey in the crops of insects, which can be saturated with bacterial spores. At this time, the bees huddle together and hang under the lid. As soon as the insects begin to crumble to the floor from hunger, they are moved to a clean hive. It should already be equipped with frames. The family is given a new queen in a cage.
- No fasting. The hive is removed, the bees are shaken off before a new one on paper. At the same time, the queen is removed from the family. If there is enough healthy brood in this colony, it is moved to a new one. The entrances are closed and the bees are provided with a sufficient amount of water and medicinal food. After a week, the queen cells are broken out. As soon as the brood is released, the colony is moved to a disinfected hive and receives a fertile queen. The bees are given medicinal syrup.
The wax is boiled for 2.5 hours, then processed into wax.
Straw and wax from infected apiaries must be labeled as “rotten.”
The brood remaining after the transfer is placed in closed containers for the incubation period, then it is used to form a new bee colony.
Further treatment of foulbrood in bees involves disinfecting areas under evidence, calcining the soil with a blowtorch or using a fire pit. The inner surface of the hives is disinfected by firing, cleaned and washed.
The apiary is closed for quarantine, which is removed the next year after the migration, if no re-occurrence of the disease is recorded.
If single colonies are affected by American foulbrood, it is recommended to destroy them.
Treatment of bees for European or American foulbrood is effective if there is no new brood. This is why the queen is removed from the bee colony.
Preparations for treating bees against foulbrood
The optimal time to treat bee colonies against foulbrood is June. Then the sick insects do not lag behind the healthy ones and take part in the main bribe. If a bee colony is severely affected by foulbrood, then it is disposed of. Insects are destroyed with formaldehyde; those that fall off are burned. In case of constant manifestation of foulbrood diseases, medicinal compositions are also given to healthy families.
The main groups of drugs used to treat foulbrood in bees are antibiotics and sulfonamides, for example, sulfantrol or sodium norsulfazole.
They are mixed with sugar syrup. Doses of medications when treating bees against foulbrood are calculated based on the number of families that need help. The calculation is made based on the volume of sugar syrup. One street requires 100-150 g, when sprayed from a spray bottle - 100-150 g per frame. Then the medicinal drug is added to 1 liter of syrup in the dosage according to the instructions.
Treatment of foulbrood in bees with antibiotics
An effective way to combat foulbrood of bees in an apiary. First, the amount of syrup is calculated, then an antibiotic is added to it and therapeutic measures are carried out.When treating foulbrood in bees with antibiotics, be sure to alternate medications. Effective drugs are considered:
- Ampiox;
- Oxytetracycline;
- Rifampicin;
- Neomycin;
- Biomycin;
- Erythromycin.
Sulfonamides are also used - antimicrobial drugs.
A very good result against foulbrood is obtained by combining antibiotics with sulfonamides. For example, 2 g of norsulfazole is combined with 1 g of ampiox, diluted in 1 liter of sugar syrup and consumed for 5 frames. The number of medical procedures for bees is 3-4 times. Regularity: 1 time per week. For healthy families, the number of procedures is reduced to 2 times. The syrup is prepared from sugar and water in a 1:1 ratio.
One street requires 500,000 biomycin. In 1 g million units, for a family of 12 frames you need to take 500 mg. Veterinarians say that it is advisable to increase the dose and take 1 g. This is due to the fact that an insufficient amount of antibiotic will be useless. Tetracyclines, Neomycin, Oxytetracycline and Erythromycin take 400,000 units, norsulfazole sodium 1 g, sulfantrol 2 g.
Bacteriophage is considered an effective drug for treating foulbrood. The food is prepared during the day and given to the bees in the evening. This is less irritating to insects.
After the course of treatment, the bee family is examined to ensure the effectiveness of the measures taken.
There is Oxybactocide powder on sale, the basis of which is oxytetracycline, and the additional components are glucose and ascorbic acid. In addition to powder, the product is available in the form of strips. Used for the treatment and prevention of foulbrood diseases of bees. Medicinal syrup is prepared from 5 g of powder and a quarter glass of water. Dose per 10 liters of syrup. One frame requires 100 ml of solution.
Methods of using drugs:
- dusting with medicinal powder from a mixture of the drug and sugar;
- spraying;
- kandi.
Methods for treating foulbrood in bees using folk remedies
Traditional methods for combating the disease are considered ineffective. The only replacement for medications can be distillation with fasting. However, modern beekeepers successfully use celandine to treat foulbrood in bees. After the last pumping of honey is completed, preventive treatment is carried out with an infusion of the plant. An infusion of celandine is prepared from 100 g of fresh herbs and 2 liters of boiling water. Brew and infuse the mixture for 30 minutes. Pour the product into a spray bottle and treat not only the bees, but also the working surfaces of the hive.
Processing hives and equipment
When a foulbrood of bees is detected, the bee colony is immediately transplanted into a clean hive. Old housing and equipment are disinfected indoors. Use a solution of hydrogen peroxide (3%) + ammonia, a solution of chloramine, Farmayod, Domestos.
- The honey extractor is moistened with the product, left for 3-4 hours, then washed off.
- Canvases and all textile items are boiled in a lye solution for 30 minutes.
- The hives are burned with a blowtorch, having previously been cleared of wax. The second option is to coat with one of the solutions listed above several times at intervals of 1 hour.
- Burn or disinfect metal objects in one of the solutions.
- Wooden frames are boiled in a caustic soda solution for 15 minutes.
- The ground under the evidence is dug up with the addition of lime.
- The honeycombs with parts of dead pupae are melted, the frames are burned, and the wax is used only for technical purposes.
- Honey is consumed as food, but is not given to bees as food.
In cases of severe foulbrood infestation, families are disposed of.
Set of preventive measures
Treating families is labor-intensive, so the focus is on prevention. Among the effective preventive measures against foulbrood are:
- Careful inspection when purchasing queen bees or bee layers.
- Annual disinfection of equipment, hives, storage rooms.
- Cleaning the apiary area from debris and dirt.
- Annual renewal of 1/3 of the number of cells. Do not use old and black ones.
- Supporting large family sizes.
- Avoiding contact between bees and colonies in quarantine.
Many beekeepers use preventative medicinal feedings with antibiotics.
Conclusion
Foulbrood in bees causes a lot of trouble for beekeepers and reduces the productivity of colonies. To avoid this, you need to carefully carry out preventive measures. In case of infection, strictly follow the veterinarian's instructions.
