Diseases of bees: their signs and treatment

Diseases of bees cause serious economic damage to beekeeping. If the disease is not detected in time, the infection will spread and destroy all bee colonies in the apiary. But even without infections, the beekeeper may face the seemingly inexplicable extinction of bees. Such extinction may occur due to some non-communicable diseases or intoxications.

Classification of diseases of bees

Unlike other branches of animal husbandry, infectious diseases in beekeeping can completely destroy the apiary. With bees in general, the situation is strange. One individual is worth nothing, but a colony is a fairly expensive unit. At the same time, the approach to diseases of bees and chickens in poultry farming and beekeeping are similar, as are their methods of treatment: quickly destroy everyone.

Diseases that affect bees can be divided into 4 large groups:

• viral;
• caused by microorganisms;
• invasive;
• non-infectious.

Diseases differ not only in symptoms, but also in the season of occurrence. Although the division into seasons is conditional. In a warm winter, bees may well get sick with “spring” diseases.

Symptoms, especially in viral diseases, often also coincide or look very similar. Therefore, in most cases, a laboratory test is needed to make a diagnosis. On the other hand, many diseases are treated with the same drugs.

But this is only if the plans include the sale of products. When choosing between keeping the family and earning income from the hive, it’s best to keep the colony.

Diagnosing

With the exception of rare cases when it is possible to say exactly what kind of disease struck the bee colony, diagnostics must be carried out in the laboratory. The beekeeper himself will surely be able to determine only the presence of macro-pests in the hive: varroa mite or wax moth. There are other lovers to feast on honey or larvae. But these are all fairly large insects. But even in this case, novice beekeepers often cannot understand what kind of spots appeared on their bees: whether it is varroa, or pollen. Therefore, in any doubtful cases, bees must be taken for research.

Inspection of bee colonies: what you should pay attention to

When inspecting hives and assessing the health of families, you need to pay attention to some signs of disease:

• the presence of a large number of drone brood (problems in the uterus);
• a large number of ugly bees (mites);
• too much death (bacterial and viral diseases);
• inability of bees to fly;
• gnawing of sealed cells by workers;
• cap color change
• falling caps;
• the formation of holes in the middle of the caps;
• diarrhea.

All these are the first signs of disease. When they appear, you can try to make a diagnosis yourself, but it is better to give the material for analysis.

When should laboratory testing be done?

In fact, with the exception of very obvious symptoms, laboratory diagnostics will have to be done for any signs of disease. Very similar to each other:

• amebiasis и nosematosis;
• conopidosis и false myiasis;
• rotten.

An accurate diagnosis of virosis can often only be made in the laboratory. For analysis, depending on the type of disease, dead or live bees are collected. With myiasis, the dead are needed. With virosis – live, which are pre-filled with a preservative agent.

Infectious diseases of bees and their treatment

Infectious diseases include:

• viral;
• bacterial;
• caused by protozoa.

Those diseases that occur when bees parasitize other organisms are called invasive.

Of infectious diseases, only bacterial and those caused by protozoa can be treated, since they can be treated with antibiotics. In the case of viral diseases, preventive measures are taken. With a strong infection in all cases, the colonies are destroyed.

Viral

Any viral diseases differ from bacterial ones in that they are caused by a self-copying RNA site. A virus cannot even be called a living organism. Therefore, biologists and doctors usually talk not about the destruction, but about the deactivation of the virus.

When a virus appears in bees, treatment is already useless. Families can only be supported by symptomatic treatment. But it is better to prevent viral diseases with the help of preventive measures.

In most cases, a virus infection in bees is expressed in some form of paralysis:

• chronic;
• acute;
• viral.

The signs of paralysis in bees and the treatment of the disease will depend on the virus that has affected the colony.

Viral paralysis

Pupae and adults get sick. During the illness, the color of the bee changes, the nervous system is damaged and death occurs. The most common cases of viral paralysis are in spring and summer. The occurrence of the disease is facilitated by a lack of bee bread in the hive and sudden changes in weather from cold to hot and vice versa.

The virus is unstable. In the most favorable conditions for it, it remains active for no more than a month. Infection occurs when a sick individual comes into contact with a healthy one. The incubation period of the disease is 4-10 days.

Signs of viral paralysis:

• inability to take off;
• lethargy;
• trembling of wings and body;
• violation of coordination of movements;
• lack of response to external stimuli.

Since the bees have time to return home, all these signs of the disease can be observed on the landing site or next to the hive.

Due to the accumulation of watery contents in the intestine, the abdomen swells. On the chest and abdomen, hair falls out, giving the bee its color, and the insect becomes shiny and black. It smells like rotting fish. 1-2 weeks after the onset of symptoms of the disease, the bee dies.

The diagnosis is made in the laboratory. To do this, 15-20 living individuals with signs of the disease are collected in a jar, filled with glycerin or vaseline oil and sent for analysis.

Treatment of viral paralysis in bees has not been developed. Prevention is carried out with various drugs, depending on the time of year when the outbreak occurred:

• in the summer they give top dressing with vitamin preparations and antibiotics;
• in early spring, use protein top dressing;
• at any time when paralysis appears, the bees are sprayed with pancreatic ribonuclease. Course 4 times with a break of 7 days.

Viral paralysis can be chronic or acute. These are not different forms of the course of the disease, these are two different types. And cause paralysis different strains of the virus.

Acute paralysis

This type of disease affects only adults. The current is acute and always ends with the death of all adult bees in the colony, it manifests itself in early spring. Sometimes an outbreak can occur at the end of wintering. In this case, as with nosematosis, worn frames and dead bees can be seen in the hive.

A mixed type of illness can occur if another infection “joins” the viral paralysis. The diagnosis is made in the laboratory. The beekeeper himself, by the appearance of the frames and dead bees, will not be able to determine which disease families should be treated for. You can not contact the laboratory only if you are sure that the bees have one of the strains of paralysis. All types of viral paralysis are treated with the same drugs.

chronic paralysis

Because of the strain that causes chronic paralysis, all forms of this disease have been called “black disease”. The outbreak usually occurs in the spring. The disease of chronic paralysis during wintering can manifest itself only as an exception. Due to the spring development of the disease, other names are given to it:

• May;
• forest bribe disease;
• black hair syndrome.

The virus affects not only adults, but also pupae. Symptoms of the disease are common with acute paralysis. If you do not take measures for treatment, the family quickly dies. In the treatment of chronic paralysis of bees, the same drugs are used as in acute.

cloud wing

The scientific name for the disease is virosis. A viral disease transmitted through the air. Bees can get sick at any time of the year. The virus is localized in the chest and head of bees. The uterus was found in the abdomen.

A sign of the disease is clouding of the wings and inability to fly. Moreover, the second symptom is permanent, and the first does not always appear. The diagnosis is made in the laboratory. The virus 2 weeks after the onset of clinical signs leads to the death of bees. There is no cure.

Filamentovirus

Another type of virosis, often found in tandem with nosematosis. The disease is caused by a large DNA-containing virus. It affects the ovaries and adipose tissue of bees. Families affected by the virus do not winter well and often die in late winter or early spring. The routes of transmission of the virus are poorly understood. Presumably, the disease can be carried by the varroa mite.

The main symptom of colony damage by filamentovirus is the attempts of sick bees to crawl out even in cold weather. Healthy bees remain in the hive during this time. When flying, sick bees crawl along the ground, being unable to rise into the air.

There is no treatment.

sac brood

Seasonal sickness. It develops in case of shortage of bee bread and honey, as well as in the presence of unfavorable conditions. In the south of Our Country, signs of the disease can be observed as early as May. In more northern areas, the disease develops at the beginning of the summer months.

Adults show no signs of illness but carry the virus for several seasons. The maximum shelf life of the active virus is 9 months in honeycombs. In honey 1-2 months, depending on the storage temperature of the product. Found on all continents.

Symptoms

The first sign of illness is sunken lids of sealed combs. This may also be the first sign of foulbrood. The signs of decomposition are also similar. In sacbrood, at the first stage, the larva does not disintegrate into a homogeneous putrefactive mass, but remains lying on its back. The larva is flabby, the color is matte. Later, the tissues disintegrate to the state of a granular liquid, the skin thickens and becomes white. The larva can be easily removed from the cell.

Symptoms of the disease disappear by July and return in the autumn months. The next season, the cycle repeats. Keepers of the virus are outwardly healthy bees. When one larva is infected, the disease will quickly spread throughout the hive.

The disease is not treated. If a virus is detected in the apiary, quarantine is declared. Queens are removed from infected families for a while. For preventive purposes, bees are fed with sugar syrup with Levomycetin or Biomycin.

Caused by bacteriosis and mycoses

In addition to viral diseases, bees also have enough bacterial diseases. Due to the lack of ventilation and high humidity, mold often starts in the hives. Mold spores are constantly flying in the air, so you can protect yourself from fungal infections only with the right arrangement of hives.

Paratyphoid

He is hafniosis or infectious diarrhea. The causative agent is a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family Hafnia alvei. Symptoms of the disease:

• enlarged abdomen;
• yellow-brown diarrhea;
• unpleasant odor;
• the bees are weakened, they cannot fly.

The causative agent of the disease enters the intestines with contaminated food and water. The incubation period is 3-14 days. When the colony is infected at the end of winter, the disintegration of the club, the excitation of bees, the exit of working individuals through the summer barrage are observed.

Treatment is carried out with Levomycetin and Myocin. For an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to take the bees to the laboratory.

Colibacillosis

Or eschecheria. Symptoms of colibacillosis are similar to paratyphoid:

• enlarged abdomen;
• diarrhea;
• loss of the ability to fly.

Again, analysis in the laboratory is required. Antibiotics that act on the intestinal microflora are also used to treat eschecheriasis.

Melanosis

A fungal disease that most often affects the uterus. Queens lose their ability to reproduce, as the fungus infects the ovaries and the seminal receptacle. The initial stage of the disease is asymptomatic, but later the female loses her ability to lay eggs and becomes inactive. The abdomen is also enlarged.

For treatment, a course of antibiotics is soldered.

Septicemia

Bacterial disease. In the people and in application to humans, this disease is called general blood poisoning. In bees, the hemolymph suffers first of all, which replaces human blood with these insects.

Septicemia can occur in two forms: acute and chronic. In the first case, the symptoms of the disease appear quickly:

• activity decreases;
• the ability to fly is lost;
• death with signs of paralysis.

In the chronic form, there are no signs of the disease until the death of the bee. With septicemia, bees usually die in massive numbers. There is no treatment.

Ascospherosis

Causes mold fungus ascosfera apis. The most favorable conditions for mold development occur during rainy summers. The ascosphere most often infects the drone brood, as it is closer to the walls of the hive, on which condensation can accumulate in case of poor ventilation.

The main symptom of ascospherosis is larvae or honeycombs covered with white bloom. In honeycombs, instead of larvae, you can find small white lumps resembling chalk crumbs. Because of this feature, the disease was popularly called “calcareous brood”.

Treatment of ascospherosis is carried out with fungicides specially designed for this purpose. But even they only stop the development of mold. With a strong infection of the family or if the colony is weak, treatment is not carried out. The swarm is destroyed along with the hive.

Aspergillosis

The culprit is the infamous black mold. Aspergillosis affects any living organisms with a weakened immune system. In bees, sedentary larvae are most susceptible to disease. But sometimes mold begins to develop on adult bees. This happens when the members of the colony are weakened by the winter hunger strike.

At the initial stage of the disease, bees experience strong excitement. Later, this state is replaced by weakness. The insects are dying. When examining bees that died from aspergillosis, you can see black mold on their abdomen.

There is no cure for aspergillosis. Black mold is a fungus that is difficult to destroy, so instead of trying to cure, they burn the hive and family.

Rot

Bacterial disease of bees. Bees suffer from 3 types of foulbrood:

• American;
• European;
• pararot.

All 3 types of disease are caused by non-motile, rod-shaped bacteria that can form spores. Such bacteria are commonly referred to as bacilli.

american foulbrood

The bacterium infects adult larvae in sealed cells. It can also affect young pupae. Unsealed brood is disease resistant.

The danger of American foulbrood is that spores can persist for decades. Even when boiled, they die only after 13 minutes. Such resistance greatly complicates the treatment of the disease, as well as the processing of hives and equipment.

American foulbrood is most easily detected in the fall after laying has stopped. Symptoms:

• cell covers are flattened;
• holes are formed in the lids;
• the color of the larvae changes from white to light brown and subsequently darkens;
• segments disappear in the larva;
• at the last stage, it turns into a homogeneous dark mass with a putrid odor;
• the remains of the larva dry at the bottom of the cell.

Treatment

The main treatment measures are to reduce the percentage of bacteria per unit area of ​​the hive. When a foulbrood appears, the families reduce and insulate the nests. Infected queens are best replaced with new ones. If this is not possible, the uterus is kept in a cage for a week.

With a strong infection, the bees are distilled into a new hive. At the end of the day, when all individuals return home, they are swept into a box and kept for 2 days without food. After that, the bees are moved to a new disinfected hive.

For treatment, bees are fed with sugar syrup with the addition of antibiotics and sodium norsulfazole.

European foulbrood

The most common disease on the Eurasian continent. European foulbrood infects both bee and drone brood equally. Signs:

• the presence of gaps in the brood combs or cells with eggs and young larvae in the middle of sealed brood: this is the first sign that should alert the beekeeper;
• color change in the infected larva from white to yellow;
• decomposition of the larva and its transformation into a dark slimy mass.

The treatment is the same as for American foulbrood.

Pararot

Another name is “false rot”. It is caused by the bacillus paraalvei. Spores remain in hives, combs and honey for up to 1 year, in bee bread for up to 3 years. Larvae in open and sealed combs become infected. In the chronic course of the disease, the pupae are also susceptible to infection. The routes of infection and signs of the disease are similar to other types of foulbrood. Symptoms of false foulbrood when open brood is infected:

• increased motor activity of larvae;
• unnatural position in the cells;
• smell from larvae that died in open combs;
• transformation of larvae into crusts.

With pararot, the age of dead larvae is greater than with European.

Signs of pararot in sealed brood:

• convex caps on sealed brood;
• darkening of the lids;
• formation in the middle of the cap of a cone-shaped cavity, but without an opening;
• the transformation of the larva into a viscous pasty mass with the smell of rot;
• the formation of dark crusts from dried larvae, easily removed from the combs.

The pupae affected by pararotten stop developing and darken. The inside of the pupa contains a cloudy gray liquid with a putrid odor.

Treatment of the disease and preventive measures are the same as for American foulbrood.

Invasive diseases of bees and their treatment

Invasive diseases are called diseases that occur as a result of an attack by parasites. On bees parasitize:

• flies;
• pincers;
• nematodes;
• intestinal parasites from protozoa;
• bee lice;
• some types of bugs.

Diseases caused by flies are called miases. Myiasis can be not only in bees, but even in humans. Parasitic flies that cause myiasis are different.

Miazy

Myiasis occurs in the body of an animal due to the penetration of fly larvae into soft tissues. In the case of bees, such parasitism cannot be called myiasis, since the animal normally survives. A bee infected with maggot always dies.

One of the beekeeping pests, the humpback bee (Phora incrassata Mg.), lays its eggs in honey bee larvae. The fly maggot develops in the bee larva for 5 days. After that, the future fly comes out, falls to the bottom of the hive or to the ground and pupates. The fly completes its development already outside the host. The larva of the bee dies.

There is no cure for the parasite. As a preventive measure, systematic cleaning of the hive from dead wood and other debris is used.

Conopidosis

Other pests that cause myiasis in bees belong to the Conipidae family of the Physocephala genus. Of the 600 known species, 100 live in Our Country.

Infection of bees with maggots of canopids occurs during the flight. The fly lays eggs in spiracles or simply on the body. The larva moves into the trachea and through it into the abdominal cavity of the bee. In the process of development and nutrition, maggot destroys the internal organs of the bee. After the 3rd stage, the fly larva pupates.

In conopids, the pupa remains to mature inside the skin of the larva. Maturation lasts 20-25 days, but most of the flies remain in the chrysalis for the winter and emerge only the next year.

Signs of infection:

• loss of ability to fly;
• greatly enlarged abdomen;
• near the hives there are many dead bees lying in a characteristic position: on the back with a fully extended proboscis and a full, elongated abdomen;
• through the segmental membranes in the abdomen, one can see a white larva or a dark pupa;
• sharp weakening of the colonies.

Due to the presence of a live maggot in the abdomen, it can be mobile even in a dead bee.

Diagnosis of the disease is carried out in the laboratory, as there are flies that parasitize dead insects and cause false myiasis. Only a specialist in the laboratory can determine which of the larvae is in the abdomen of a bee.

Treatment of the disease has not been developed. As a preventive measure, the areas under the hives are regularly cleaned and sticks impregnated with insecticides are placed near the hives. Flies are poisoned by sitting on these sticks.

Senotainiosis

The disease is caused by the larvae of the parasitic fly Senotainia tricuspis. This insect looks like a common house fly. It has similarities with Wolfart. But he’s only interested in bees. The fly is viviparous. It lives in the southern regions of Our Country on the edges of forests.

Cenotainiasis is not contagious. It is provoked only by a fly, which attacks the departed bees and lays maggots on the articulation of the head with the chest.

The main sign of the presence of the parasite is bees crawling with spread wings, which are unable to fly. This is due to the fact that maggots parasitize in the thoracic region of working individuals and eat away muscles. A slight infestation with larvae can be overlooked. With a strong defeat, there will be many such crawling bees.

There is no cure. Instead of treatment, they use preventive measures to identify flies in the apiary and destroy them. But insecticides used to get rid of flies also kill bees. The use of insecticides is carried out according to certain schemes. The presence of flies is detected by placing white plates with water near the hives. Flies prefer to sit on white.

Mermitidosis

If there is an intestine, there will be worms. Even if the intestine has a relatively primitive structure. The most common helminthiasis in bees is caused by nematode larvae. This disease in bees is called mermitiasis. The name nematosis is not entirely accurate, since nematodes are a type of roundworm. Not all of them are parasites.

According to the classification, mermitids are 2 ranks lower than nematodes. They parasitize insects, arthropods, earthworms and other similar organisms. Each species is specific to its host.

Mermitid larvae parasitize in the intestines of bees. Adult nematodes live in the soil. Favorable conditions for the disease are created by the presence of a large reservoir near the apiary and high humidity.

The larvae enter the bee while collecting pollen and nectar. Or insects bring them to the hive along with water. It would be more correct to call the larvae predators, since the parasite is not interested in the death of the host. In the case of infection with mermitids, the bee dies. The nematodes that emerged from her body continue to live independently in the ground, laying thousands of eggs during their life.

Symptoms of the disease are expressed in the loss of the ability to fly by bees and the subsequent death of insects. The diagnosis is made after examining the intestines of bees under a microscope in the laboratory. When infected with mermitids, larvae will be found in the gastrointestinal tract of the bee.

Treatment for mermitiasis has not been developed. Sick families are destroyed. To prevent the disease, the apiary is transferred to a dry place.

Diseases of bees caused by protozoa

There are also diseases of bees caused by protozoa that parasitize in the intestines of insects. The most common ones are:

• nosematosis;
• amoebiasis;
• gregariousness.

Due to external signs, it is sometimes possible to confuse various diseases. Because of this, laboratory tests will be required for an accurate diagnosis and successful treatment.

Nosematosis

During the spring relocation of families to new hives, it is recommended to remove worn frames. The term “worn out” means that the frames are stained with liquid droppings of bees. Diarrhea in bees in winter occurs due to infection with Nosema. The disease begins to develop from the end of winter. Nosema disease reaches its maximum level of infection in April-May.

All adult members of the colony are affected. Nosema enters the body of bees in the form of spores along with contaminated water and food. It can be preserved in honey and honeycombs for many years. Therefore, it is recommended to change hives and frames annually.

Treatment of bees from nosematosis is carried out using a solution of fumagillin in sugar syrup. Preventive measures are standard: compliance with the conditions for keeping bees and the systematic disinfection of all equipment and inventory in the apiary.

Amoebiasis

The disease is caused by amoebas of the species Malpighamoeba mellificae. Amoebas parasitize in the digestive system of bees, eating away soft tissues. The main symptom of amoebiasis is a sharp decrease in the number of colonies. With this disease, the bees do not die in the hive, but during the flight, so there will be few dead individuals in the hives.

In addition to the decrease in numbers, you can observe:

• enlarged abdomen;
• diarrhea;
• when opening the hive, a sharp unpleasant odor.

The most favorable period for the life of amoebas is the spring-autumn period. The “main time” of nosematosis is winter or early spring. Diarrhea in bees in the summer with a high degree of probability indicates the disease of bees with amoebiasis.

Amoebas remain in the body for more than 6 months. In uterus, the disease proceeds sluggishly and is difficult to diagnose. Amebiasis in queens is better seen in winter.

For the treatment of the disease, contact and systemic tissue preparations are prescribed. The former are designed to stop the spread of amoebas, the latter kill parasites in the body of the bee.

Contact preparations:

• etofamide;
• paromomycin;
• clefamide;
• Diloxanide drops.

The drugs are used to treat parasitic infections and against intestinal parasites.

Systemic tissue amoebiacides include:

• secnidazole;
• metronidazole;
• tinidazole;
• ornidazole.

The treatment is based on the fact that the drugs penetrate the tissues, and when fed, the amoeba dies.

Gregarinosis

The disease is caused by unicellular intestinal parasites – real gregarins. Not found in all countries. But in Our Country they are found in a warm climate. In cold and moderate gregarinosis is a rarity. Bees become infected by ingesting gregarine spores with water.

With intensive nutrition of gregarines, fat bodies are destroyed, and the life span of bees is sharply reduced. Infected queens die in the spring.

The diagnosis is made, taking into account the epizootic situation in the region, after laboratory tests. Diagnosis requires 20-30 individuals from a family suspicious for gregarinosis.

Treatment of bees from gregarinosis is carried out in the same way as with nosematosis.

Entomosis

These are diseases caused by external parasitic insects. The difference from myiasis is that during entomosis, the parasite does not penetrate into the body of the bee.

Braulez

In the common people lice. Braula insects cause the disease. Outwardly, bee lice are very similar to the varroa mite:

• red-brown color;
• rounded body;
• a similar location on the bee’s body;
• combined areas.

Brauls are most often found in the Far East and Transcaucasia.

Brauls infect bees by moving “on foot” to a healthy individual. Lice feed on wax and at first glance do not harm the bees.

When breeding, Braula lays 1 egg per cell. Having emerged from the egg, the larva in the process of development manages to gnaw through a passage up to 10 cm long in the lids, after which it pupates.

Signs of brawles:

• restless behavior of the colony;
• reduction in the life span of workers;
• decrease in oviposition in the uterus;
• bees bring less supplies;
• deterioration in the development of the colony in the spring;
• heavy wintering;
• with a strong infection, a swarm rally from the hive.

Provoking factors for the disease: old honeycomb, dirt, warm winter. Braulas can also be introduced into another hive along with frames, by capturing foreign swarms or by replanting infected new queens.

Treatment of braulosis is carried out in the same way as when the family is infected with varroatosis. These parasites are often found together. When carrying out preventive measures, not only the number of braulas, but also varroa will decrease.

Meleoz

The disease is caused by blister beetles of the species Meloe brevicollis or short-winged shirt. Adults feed on the nectar of flowers and do no harm. The larvae parasitize in the nests of earthen bees. They can also be found in honey bee hives. The larvae gnaw through the intersegmental membranes on the abdomen and suck out the hemolymph. The bee then dies. With a strong infection with parasites, the whole family can die.

Treatment for meleosis has not been developed. The means of combating the disease is the treatment of the surrounding area with insecticides, but this will also lead to the death of the bees.

Arachnosis

The common name for these diseases was given by arachnids, that is, mites. At least 2 varieties of mites parasitize on bees: large varroa and microscopic acarapis (Acarapis woodi).

Varroatosis

Varroa mites feed on the hemolymph of bee larvae. The female mite lays her eggs in an unsealed cell with brood. The mite prefers drone brood, as drone larvae are larger. The brood infected with mites does not receive sufficient nutrients and the bees leave the cells small and weakened. If several ticks parasitized on one larva, the adult insect will be disfigured: with underdeveloped wings, poorly developed legs, or with other problems. The larva can die if the female tick has laid 6 eggs in a cell.

Treatment is carried out with specially designed preparations that do little harm to bees. As a preventive measure, drone brood is destroyed in the spring.

Acarapidosis

The disease is also called acarosis, but this is a more general name. The causative agent of the disease is the mite Acarapis woodi (Acarapis woodi). A fertilized female mite lays eggs in the trachea of ​​bees. Ticks bite into tissues and feed on hemolymph. In large quantities, they can block the path of air. From the upper trachea, the ticks gradually move down. Adults are sucked from the inside at the base of the wings. After fertilization, the female exits through the spiracle.

The main time of infection is winter. The tick does not live either at too low (up to 2 ° C) or at too high summer temperatures. In a warm hive, with close contact of healthy individuals with patients, optimal breeding conditions for the tick are created. One bee can contain up to 150 eggs and adults. Signs of the presence of the Acarapis tick:

• loss of ability to fly due to lack of air;
• many dead bees by the end of wintering with wings spread at different angles;
• worn walls.

You can try to diagnose yourself. To do this, the bee is frozen. Then they cut off the head with a prothoracic collar and examine the exposed trachea. Black, yellow, or brown trachea indicates infection with the Acarapis woody mite.

Treatment is difficult due to the fact that the mites make their way deep inside the host’s body. For treatment, fumigation is used with special acaricidal preparations.

Brood diseases

Virtually all brood diseases are infectious:

• all kinds of foulbrood;
• ascospherosis;
• sac brood;

Some of these diseases can also affect adult bees. Even if the disease is asymptomatic, a sick bee is a carrier of infection.

There are non-infectious brood diseases associated with improper maintenance and inbreeding: chilling and freezing.

Frozen brood

The disease is not contagious and only affects pupae and larvae. The brood usually freezes in the spring during the return frosts. The second period of risk is autumn. At this time, the bees gather in a club and expose the combs with brood. If the autumn is cold and the hives are outside, the brood may also freeze.

The dead brood is found when the bees begin to open and clean the cells with the dead larvae. The difference between this disease and infectious ones: there are no healthy larvae among the dead. During infection, healthy and diseased larvae are mixed.

Treatment is not required here. We only need prevention. To prevent freezing of the brood, it is enough to insulate the hives in time and place them in a room equipped for wintering.

frozen brood

Although frozen and chilled brood have a similar sound and occur under similar circumstances, there are significant differences between the two diseases. The disease is usually observed after the exhibition of the apiary from wintering to the street.

The brood freezes at different stages of development: from egg to pupa. Although frosts work as a catalyst, the true cause of frozen brood is different: the queen produces non-viable offspring, either due to inbreeding or poor quality food.

Signs of a frozen brood:

• heterogeneous appearance;
• the absence of the odor characteristic of foulbroods in the dead larvae;
• the larvae are watery, they are easy to extract from the cells;
• in pupae, the abdominal part is underdeveloped.

After the appearance of fresh pollen, and the restoration of proper nutrition due to it, the frozen brood disappears. The only way of treatment is to promptly provide the colony with complete food. Prevention of this disease consists in the timely change of the uterus to a young one, the full nutrition of the bees and the prevention of inbreeding.

Non-infectious diseases of bees and their signs, photo

Non-communicable diseases in any animal come down to three groups:

• metabolic disorders due to inadequate diet;
• poisoning;
• injuries.

The latter does not concern bees, since a single individual has no price for a colony. The first two groups affect the entire colony.

Diseases caused by violation of the rules of detention

If too much honey and bee bread is removed from the hive, the bees will face the threat of starvation. Most of the diseases with metabolic disorders occur precisely because of the lack of food. Fasting can be:

• carbohydrate;
• protein;
• water.

Due to improper maintenance, only two problems usually arise: freezing of families and steaming.

carbohydrate

Carbohydrate starvation occurs when there is a lack of honey for overwintering of the colony. Carbohydrate and protein starvation lead to the depletion of bees and brood and subsequent death. Signs of carbohydrate starvation:

• motley brood;
• small, underdeveloped and sluggish nurse bees;
• a small amount of printed brood;
• absence or insignificant amount of pollen or perga in the nest;
• dead bees near the hive;
• empty alimentary canal in dying individuals;
• many discarded larvae near the hive.

In winter, starving bees make a sound reminiscent of the rustling of autumn leaves. If the bees die in the hive, they are always head inside the cells.

The reason for the lack of honey can be:

• crystallization;
• fermentation;
• low-quality honey;
• incorrect socket assembly.

No special treatment is required. To prevent starvation, bees are fed with honey, sugar syrup, bee bread or its substitutes. They do it both in summer and winter.

Protein

Protein starvation in bees occurs if there is not enough bee bread in the hive. With a lack of protein in bees, resistance to diseases, especially nosematosis, decreases. The treatment of starvation is to feed the bees with a bee bread substitute. Prevention here is simple: do not be greedy and leave enough pollen for the bees for the winter. If the year was bad, and the colony could not store enough pollen, you can feed the bees with a bee bread substitute.

Water

Water starvation, also known as constipation, is popularly called May sickness. Occurs most often in the spring. But there is no particular seasonality here. Signs of water starvation may appear in the fall.

The main symptom of the disease is the hindgut of bees overflowing with dry pollen. You can suspect the presence of a problem when young nurse bees are released. During water starvation, the bees appear outside in a state of great excitement, make attempts to take off, but cannot.

Treatment must begin quickly, but it consists in providing insects with water. If the disease has already passed into a severe stage, the bees are given sugar syrup to drink. To prevent the disease, a good watering place for bees is arranged in the apiary and moldy honeycombs are removed from the hives.

Steaming

The consequence of improperly arranged ventilation. This is the name of the rapid death of the colony from high humidity and temperature in a tightly closed container. Causes of the disease: tightly closed notch with poor ventilation. The letok is closed during the transportation of the hives or when the fields in the neighborhood are treated with insecticides. Steaming also occurs when the colony is kept in a cramped, poorly ventilated swarm and when the family is sent by mail.

Disease symptoms:

• loud noise from excited bees;
• barred entrance densely filled with insects;
• then the noise subsides, and outgoing heat is felt from the ceiling canvas;
• honey drips from the bottom of the hive;
• honeycombs in the nest are broken;
• bees lie at the bottom, some of the individuals crawl;
• insects have become black due to wetting of the bristles;
• wings stuck to the abdomen;
• some individuals are stained with honey.

When steaming, it is not a treatment that is carried out, but an urgent rescue of the colony. To do this, the nest is opened and the bees are given the opportunity to fly freely. The hive is cleaned of honey, honeycombs and dead insects.

For prevention during transportation of the apiary, it is enough to correctly make ventilation. When sending and temporarily isolating, leave a minimum of honey, provide a colony with free space and leave ventilation holes.

Diseases caused by poisoning

Contrary to any evolutionary logic, bees can become poisoned by the pollen and nectar of flowers from which they collect honey. Due to the use of insecticides in agriculture, chemical poisoning of colonies occurs today. Very rarely, salt poisoning occurs. Few people feed their bees with salt water.

salt sickness

To be poisoned by salt, bees must drink a 5% saline solution. Where they will take it is usually not specified. With this type of poisoning, there are two signs: anxiety and swarm noise, later cessation of flights. The treatment is simple: in summer and spring they are soldered with sugar syrup, in winter – with clean water.

Chemical toxicosis

The most dangerous type of poisoning. With chemical toxicosis, the entire apiary can die out. The symptoms are similar to those seen with pollen or nectar poisoning.

There is no cure for this poisoning. You can take preventive measures:

• clarifying with farmers the timing of the treatment of plantings with pesticides;
• closing the hives for the duration of processing;
• placement of apiaries away from planting fruit trees, vegetable gardens, fields and factories.

Safety radius 5 km.

pollen toxicosis

Occurs during the flowering of poisonous plants. Signs of pollen poisoning:

• high activity of the individual at the beginning;
• lethargy after a few hours or days;
• swollen abdomen;
• inability to fly;
• convulsions;
• falling out of the nest.

Treatment is carried out by soldering insects with a 30% sugar solution and water. But it is better to remove the apiary from poisonous plants away.

Nectar toxicosis

The nectar of some plants can also cause poisoning. Especially dangerous:

• belladonna;
• tobacco;
• buttercups

If the bees “have gone crazy” and attack all living things, or, conversely, are apathetic and unable to fly, treatment should be started. Insects poisoned by nectar are given 70% sugar syrup.

Honeydew toxicosis

Honeydew attracts bees with a sweet taste, but it is the excrement of aphids and some other insects. Honey from honeydew does not differ in appearance and taste from ordinary honey, but it causes intestinal upset in bees. Sometimes it can lead to death.

Honeydew poisoning can occur at any time of the year. Workers are the first to be etched. With the accumulation of honeydew honey in the hive, poisoning of queens and larvae begins.

The first sign of poisoning is mass weakness. In many individuals, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is upset. The gut of a dead bee looks dark when viewed under a microscope.

Honeydew poisoning is practically not amenable to treatment, so it is easier to prevent it. To do this, in preparation for winter, you need to check honey for the presence of harmful substances.

Preventive measures

It is always easier and cheaper to carry out prevention than to treat bees later without a guarantee of results. The main preventive measures in beekeeping are the correct maintenance of colonies:

• arrangement of well-ventilated and warm hives;
• decontamination of spare cells;
• renewal of nesting cells, when culling or detuning;
• restoration of families after a bribe. It is carried out by building young bees;
• insulation of nests in case of their additional expansion;
• supplying families with high-quality feed in sufficient quantities;
• centralized pumping of honey;
• maintenance of winter-hardy breeds of bees;
• improvement of winter quarters.

A very important role in maintaining the health of bees is played by the choice of location for the apiary. If you choose a windy and well-lit area, thermoregulation in the hives will be difficult. Placing the apiary in a damp, shady place will allow fungi to develop in the hives. Departure of bees for honey will also be difficult. You need to choose a dry, wind-sheltered area where the hives can be covered in the shade of trees.

feed base

The owner of a stationary apiary can control the number and types of flowering plants, but for him this is only information for information. With nomadic beekeeping, you need to choose a place for an apiary so that there are no plants with poisonous pollen nearby. The collection of such food by bees will lead not only to diseases of families, but also to damage to the honey itself. It will also be poisonous.

Winter prevention

First of all, you need to take care of placing the hives in a room prepared for wintering. Be sure to check honey and bee bread. Remove from the hive:

• unsealed honey;
• honey with an increased dose of drugs;
• honey from diseased bees.

The quality of honey deteriorates greatly if infectious diseases are present in the apiary. Such honey should not be fed to bees.

Also, for wintering, bees definitely need perga. Its quantity in the hive must be at least 18 kg. If the family is large and you need a lot of bee bread, the required amount is calculated according to the scheme of 1 kg of bee bread per 4 kg of honey.

The hygienic minimum of pollen per day is 75 g. Whether the bees collect the required amount of pollen is determined during April-July using a control pollen trap.

Bees do not require water during wintering. They lack the one that is contained in honey and bee bread.

Conclusion

Diseases of bees are numerous enough to cause trouble for the beekeeper. To prevent diseases, it is necessary to observe sanitary and veterinary rules: prevention is always easier and cheaper than the treatment of a disease.