Free Shipping on qualifying orders over $50!!! Use Promo: FREEMANSHIP
American Foulbrood
-
The most serious disease a hive can have
-
Spore forming
-
The vegetative stage infects larvae
-
It grows for about ten days and then turns into a spore
-
2.5 billion spores can exist in one (AFB) scale
It takes only about 10 spores fed to a one day old larvae for it to become infected
Symptoms/Identification
-
Irregular brood pattern (shotgun appearance)
-
Many cells are left open among capped brood
-
Perforated, sunken, sometimes greasy looking wet capped cells
-
Foul odor
-
Discolored larvae
-
Dried out scales adherer to lower cell walls
-
Pupal tongue may be present
-
Larvae die upright
-
Scales are difficult to remove
How it Spreads
-
Robbing behavior
-
Infected equipment
-
Drifting
-
Infected honey and pollen
-
Swarm
Diagnose
-
Rosiness test-- take a toothpick stir it into a sick larvae and if it stretches out like glue it is most likely (AFB)
-
Foulbrood test kit
-
Send a sample of Honey free brood to Bee disease Diagnosis
bee research Laboratory
Bldg. 306 Room 316
Beltsville Agriculture Research Center-East
Beltsville, MD 2070
Treatment
-
Terramycin and Tylan powder kills the vegetative stage but not the spores!!!
-
Lye bath and Paraffin dipping are both options but there is a risk of reinfection
-
Ethylene oxide kills the spores but few states still approve it. (it is known as a cancer causing chemical and doesn’t kill the spores in honey)
-
Gamma Radiation (impractical)
-
Put the bees on knew equipment, requeen, and feed or spray with a medicated syrup
-
BURNING is the most effective treatment. Kill the bees with soapy water at night. And them burn them. Then Burn the infected equipment and bury it.