Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
As noted above, the main thing is to know what a healthy colony looks and
smells like. Similarly, know what healthy brood looks like, and know what
eggs correctly laid at the base of each cell look like. Know how many bees
you should expect to see in a colony, and know what sort of activity you
should see at the hive's entrance on a sunny day. If you know these things
then, if you notice anything different or smell anything different, either
follow the diagnostic advice given in this topic or, better still, ask for advice
from a bee-disease officer or an experienced beekeeper. By doing this you
will learn how to deal with these problems and you will know which ones to
report to the authorities.
My final piece of advice is that, if your bees have a disease, don't try to
hide it. AFB in your hives, for example, can be embarrassing - it suggests to
others that you are not a competent beekeeper, and so many people hide
the fact and try to deal with it on their own. The reality may be, however,
that it is your neighbour who is not a competent beekeeper - the disease
had to come from somewhere! I remember a beekeeper in Lincolnshire
whose bees contracted AFB. He immediately rang not only the bee-disease
officer but also the rest of the beekeepers in his association and said: 'If
you've never seen AFB, here's your chance. Get round here quickly before
they are destroyed.' I went round, saw my first AFB and learnt from it. That's
the way to do things.
