Content
Nosema is a common phenomenon among bee colonies, affecting all members of the bee colony: the fertile queen, worker insects, and drones. Significant problems with the health of the bee colony can be caused by an unsuccessful wintering. This phenomenon may be associated with the introduction of productive species into an environment to which beneficial insects are not adapted in any way.
Possible causes of infection
This disease begins its development after the penetration of an intracellular parasite, scientifically called Microsporidia nosema, which is common in any climatic region. Parasites originate in the intestines, where they have a destructive effect on the sensitive mucous membrane. Pathogenic microorganisms release destructive toxic substances that have a poisonous effect on the bee.
Typically, families are infected in the winter or early spring; in rare cases, the disease occurs in the fall.Spores may remain dormant for a long period until favorable conditions occur.
The following conditions are worth highlighting as provoking causes of the spread of nosema:
- Warmth combined with high humidity.
- Insufficient feeding of the family.
- Increased amount of honeydew in the feed.
- Deficiency of life-giving carbohydrates.
- Early appearance of brood.
- Negative conditions during wintering of a bee colony.
- Lack of cleanliness in the hives.
Symptoms and treatment of bee nosematosis are directly related to the beekeeper’s insufficient care of the apiary.
Factors influencing the development of the disease
Nosema, which destroys the health of bees, begins to actively develop and weaken the protective properties of bee colonies if negative external conditions contribute to this, namely:
- cold hive;
- damp winter hut;
- dirty bee nest.
As a result of the progression of insidious nosematosis, 65% of existing bee colonies die, causing the beekeeper to suffer serious losses.
Signs of nosematosis disease in bees
The first signals of probable infection with nosematosis appear in working insects already 3-4 days after the penetration of destructive parasites. It is this period of time that represents the hidden period.
The main signal for the beekeeper, indicating destructive nosematosis, is profuse diarrhea of a watery structure in worker bees. An enlarged belly may also indicate pathology, which is a consequence of dysfunction of the digestive processes, resulting in protein starvation.
Due to the death of the mammary glands of worker bees, the number of seasonal brood is reduced. In fertile queens, destructive parasites infect the ovaries, resulting in a sharp reduction in the number of eggs laid.
Diagnostic methods
If there is a suspicion of the development of nosematosis, then the expected diagnosis is clarified. For this purpose, one individual is selected, the sharp part of the sting is removed using tweezers, the intestines are removed, and they are carefully examined. In infected insects, the intestines swell, the intestines become light in color, and noticeably lose their firmness and elasticity.
Treatment of bees for nosematosis
Treatment of bee nosematosis in the fall must be carried out in a timely manner, otherwise the beekeeper runs the risk of losing all broods. To begin with, the remaining individuals are sent for a cleansing flight.
Upon their return, they are placed in clean homes, and dirty homes are thoroughly disinfected. The food used is replaced with fresh one, and infected queens are removed. The next step is to create the conditions necessary for comfortable bee brood.
Preparations for nosematosis of bees
Treatment and prevention of nosematosis involves treatment with special drugs. For this purpose, the following effective compositions are used:
- common Fumagillin;
- effective Nosemacid;
- Enteroseptol;
- Sulfadimezin.
How and when to give Nozemat to bees in the fall
For preventive purposes, the effective Nozemat is used in the fall, which strengthens the resistance of families to such infections. It is dissolved in sugar syrup and then fed to insects.In autumn, bee frames are dusted. The drug is used based on the calculation of 5-6 g of powder per 1 bee frame. Feed in an amount of 0.05 g per 1 frame.
Treatment of bees for nosematosis in autumn
Prevention of bee nosematosis in autumn is a necessary procedure to protect bee colonies. After removing the magazines in the hives, it is necessary to treat the bees with a natural alcohol tincture of wormwood. This composition is made quite simply: 100 g of dried wormwood is poured into 1 liter of alcohol of 70% strength. Until ready, the mixture sits in a cool place for 10 days.
To prevent nosematosis in the fall, it is enough to use 10 ml of the resulting product per 1 liter of regular sugar syrup. Consumption is based on 1 liter per family. After the last pumping of honey, the beekeeper performs an autumn treatment of bees against nosematosis with disinfectants to disinfect the hive. For this purpose, solutions of lye or store-bought “Belizna”, household “Mole” are suitable for cleaning blockages in pipes.
Treatment of nosematosis in bees with folk remedies
Autumn prevention of bees from nosematosis and treatment also involve the use of folk recipes. Experienced beekeepers heal colonies with the following simple means:
- Natural tincture of garlic - 1 ml of the finished healing composition is added to 200-250 ml of syrup mass.
- Strong tincture of hot pepper - 1 liter of syrup requires 40 ml of the effective composition (for this, 50 g of dried pepper is steamed with 1 liter of boiling water).
- Sorrel tincture.
- Traditional composition of wormwood.
All these measures will help eliminate such an undesirable phenomenon as the spread of the Nosema parasite.
In addition to pharmaceutical plants, life-giving tansy flowers save you from insidious nosematosis. In the hive, the resulting product is placed between two gauze layers on the frame. The product is kept for two days, after which it is removed with a break of 5 days, then the manipulation is repeated again.
Natural thyme is used to treat nests against nosema parasites. Bee nests are also treated with a decoction based on it. For this purpose, 100 fresh leaves of the plant are pureed in a meat grinder, the resulting mass is placed between a gauze layer in a nesting frame. After 4 days, the laying is repeated again.
For preventive purposes, pine flour is suitable, the aroma of which is not tolerated by harmful mites, which are carriers of destructive diseases. After 12 hours, they crumble to the bottom of the bee hive, losing their natural ability to move further; the medicinal dust clogs the suction cups on their legs. To process a bee's nest, 60 g of pine flour is suitable.
Treatment of bees with wormwood for nosematosis
An effective folk remedy for combating insidious nosematosis of bee colonies is pharmaceutical wormwood. 500 g of dried raw materials are steamed in 10 liters of boiling water, after which the container is insulated and left for 2 days. The filtered product is thoroughly filtered and mixed with sugar syrup. For each liter, use 100 ml of the finished composition. The mixed composition is given in the amount of 100 g for each bee frame. Another prevention of nosematosis of bees in the fall with wormwood reduces the infection of colonies by up to 80%.
Also, a medicinal collection created on the basis of pine buds and pharmaceutical wormwood, collected during the period of active flowering, has excellent effectiveness in strengthening the immunity of bee colonies. The collection includes:
- 10 liters of purified water;
- 900 g of wormwood, collected during the flowering period;
- 50 g of pharmaceutical wormwood, collected during the period of active growth of green mass;
- 50 g of fresh buds of natural coniferous pine.
Prevention measures
To prevent the spread of the destructive parasites of insidious nosematosis in the bee population, every beekeeper must take certain preventive measures:
- Cells undergo a scheduled replacement every year.
- The worn-out honeycombs are fired.
- Frames are boiled in a caustic soda solution after cutting out old sushi.
- During wintering, the bees are fed with natural sugar, replacing 50% of the feed with this composition.
- Do not allow unlined frames in the hives during the wintering period.
- To spread families resistant to various ailments, to unite weak ones together in the fall.
- Create good ventilation of the hive to prevent dampness.
- Clean and disinfect the beehive every year in the spring.
- Honeydew honey is not suitable for feeding bees in winter.
- Create a comfortable environment for cleaning and disinfecting the hive.
- Do not breed fertile queens from colonies infected with Nosema.
- Replace productive queens in suspicious colonies.
- Acquired families are placed under a certain quarantine.
- Maintain an optimal temperature of 4-5 °C in winter and a humidity level not higher than 75-85%.
- Regularly insulate the beehive.
Also, for preventive purposes, at the end of summer Fumagilin is added to the traditional syrup, the consumption of the composition is 50 ml per 1 liter of natural syrup, 100 g of ready-mixed syrup is used per frame.
Conclusion
Nosema is an insidious phenomenon, the spread of which no beekeeper should allow in his hive. Compliance with simple sanitary requirements for keeping insects and rational preventive measures will help prevent this bee disease. Regular use of methods beekeeping, aimed at improving the health of bee colonies, also helps strengthen the immunity of insects. All these actions guarantee the health of the bees and excellent productivity of the hive as a whole. Careful treatment of bees against nosematosis in the fall is an action that every beekeeper should take into account. These measures will help increase the profitability of any apiary.
