Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Disease diagnosis and treatment are really up to you. While advice can be sought from
other beekeepers and local extension officers, they won't be around when you are out
inspecting your bees, and, as noted above, it's no good calling the vet!
Because of its importance, I advise you to obtain a specialist book on the subject or to
use
The Beekeeper's Field Guide
, which offers advice on diseases for beekeepers in the
field (see the 'Further Reading' section at the end of the topic). There are some diseases
you must report to the authorities in most countries and states, and you should know
the rules about this. Failure to report could lead to legal action. There are no 'worst'
diseases because most, if left untreated, will kill your bees, but there are some that
require more immediate attention than others, such as American Foul Brood (AFB).
The first many beekeepers know they have a problem is when they open up their hives
for an inspection to find them all crawling with wax-moth larvae, which look up and
say: 'Where were you, mate? We've taken over in here now.' Sadly this happens all too
often to beekeepers who don't check their hives properly.
Let's start our look at diseases and pests with wax moths which, although not a disease,
often invade a colony because a disease or other problem has wasted it and made it
unable to defend itself.
Wax moths perform a vital service to bees in the wild. They destroy diseased hives and
so help to prevent the spread of disease. Colonies with genetically weak components in
their queens or drones may also fail and be destroyed by wax moths, again helping the
bees to eradicate their less viable elements. Unfortunately, the moth is essentially after
food for its larvae and won't distinguish between wax combs in colonies and wax combs
you have stored for the winter. Where there is wax comb, there will be wax moths, and
these can be effectively protected only by healthy colonies that can control the pest. It is
not uncommon to see one or two moths in the more remote corners of a healthy hive,
but any signs of wax-moth damage mean there is a problem in the colony.
