Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
accommodated. Skunk predation in the USA can also lead to very defensive bees and
colony destruction. Finally, in some countries, ants are a major pest.
All this seems to boil down to the usual dilemma of people, their agriculture and wild
life. While none of these problems should be dismissed, solutions should be sought
that enable beekeepers to maintain healthy apiaries and, hopefully wildlife to keep up
their numbers. This is, however, an ongoing development well beyond the scope of this
book.
SUMMARY
This chapter has attempted to cover the subject of diseases and pests as
comprehensively as an introduction to beekeeping allows. This is a huge
area, however, and each disease could have a volume of its own. To the
beginning beekeeper, the whole thing may be difficult to grasp.
To summarize, therefore:
Remember that the diagnosis of diseases can be difficult. Some, such as
chalkbrood, are more readily identifiable than others, such as EFB, the
visual symptoms of which are often confused with other diseases and
problems.
In many cases (e.g. foulbrood), it is easier to identify a diseased colony
if you know what a healthy one looks like.
If you have doubts about a field diagnosis, seek advice from someone
competent or contact the statutory authority. It is inadvisable to do
nothing in the hope it will go away.
This is especially important in
cases of AFB and EFB which, in some countries/states, are not notifiable
diseases.
