. The Bee-keepers' review. Bee culture. 178 THF BEE-KEEPERS' REViJUW. luck that I had with one. The diseaee spread from a single hive, and infected everyone that I had, and I have never got rid of it since. My theory is that robber bees carry the germ. You know that some bees are born thieves, and do nothing but go from hive to hive trying to slip in. They frequently get caught by the guards, and in the great majority of cases, if they fail to wriggle loose, the guards literally pick them, gnawing the down off, until finally the little scamp slips out of their clutches, and in a minute is back
. The Bee-keepers' review. Bee culture. 178 THF BEE-KEEPERS' REViJUW. luck that I had with one. The diseaee spread from a single hive, and infected everyone that I had, and I have never got rid of it since. My theory is that robber bees carry the germ. You know that some bees are born thieves, and do nothing but go from hive to hive trying to slip in. They frequently get caught by the guards, and in the great majority of cases, if they fail to wriggle loose, the guards literally pick them, gnawing the down off, until finally the little scamp slips out of their clutches, and in a minute is back again or off to try the next hive. In this way robbers get that slick, shiny appearance. The same cause, by the way, produces the same appearance in diseased bees, resulting from the guards arresting sick individuals and picking them. But while the robber always looks plump, if the shiny bee looks emaciated it is the sign of the presence of bee paralysis. Many hives never show any further symptom than this, as for some reason or other the malady never progresses beyond that point in some colonies. Well, these robber bees visit in- fected hives, of course, and come in close contact with sick bees, and perhaps get a sip of the germ infected honey and carry it home, to establish a new center of infection. I would respectfully warn your experimenter to carry on his experiments at a safe dis- tance from bees that he wants to preserve. I believe that, notwithstanding some writers make light of the dangers of infection in the northern localities of our country, the disease will spread even there, and that it will kill out or cripple colonies there in many instances. I have learned lately that at least one of the most prominent queen breeders of the country has been nursing some cases of bee paralysis that proved fatal on his hands, and at the same time selling queens, and in this way scattering the dis- ease all over the country. He says that he don't believe that it is infectious, a
Size: 1335px × 1873px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbeecult, bookyear1888