1. Pests and Diseases
For this class we'll discuss some of the pests and diseases that you'll need to become familiar with as a beekeeper.
Some you'll never see, others you'll not want to see and there are those that you'll see soon enough
A starting colony is in a vulnerable state – population is low and there is always something looking to take advantage.

2. Pests and Diseases Beekeepers Role: Periodic Colony Inspections
Recognize signs of bee diseases and pests
Differentiate between serious and not so serious
Know the corrective actions for each
Let’s begin by talking about DISEASES

3. Diseases Causes of honey bees diseases: Bacterial Fungus Protozoan
Virus
These are the four carriers of honey bee diseases

4. American Foulbrood Powdery Scale Disease Septicemia Disease
European Foulbrood
Chronic Bee Paralysis
Bee Paralysis
Chalkbrood
Flagellates
Spiroplasmosis
Sacbrood
Gregarines
So what diseases affect honey bees?
These are the top five: One you never want to see and the others you may see at some time as a beekeeper
So let's look at them individually
Acute Bee Paralysis
Amoeba Disease
Stonebrood
Nosema

5. Brood Disease American foulbrood

6. Brood Disease American foulbrood Good healthy brood
This is a serious disease that spreads very easily and at some time or other beekeepers will experience it.
It is caused by bacteria called Bacillus larvae
American foulbrood
- It is caused by bacteria called Bacillus larvae. 
- Usually, when in non friendly environment it can be found in a form of spores, which can last for decades, and when in this form it is very difficult to destroy it. 
- When moved to a friendly environment it can wake up and start spreading.  Only in this form it can be treated, meaning antibiotics can do nothing to spores. 
- American foulbrood is the disease manifested on capped brood

7. Brood Disease
American foulbrood
Young larva ingest the bacterial spores when fed by nurse bees.  The spores then germinate and begin to grow rapidly.  Death to the larva usually occurs as the pupae stage is reached.    Larva that die turn a coffee brown and begin to melt down into a gooey mass.   Housecleaning bees then try to remove the dead larva and in the process become contaminated with the bacterial spores that are now dormant.  The house bees then carry the spores to other bees, and the spores end up either in the honey stores or are fed again to new larva.  Thus the disease is spread within the colony rather rapidly.

8. Brood Disease
American foulbrood
Robbing is one of the ways that American foulbrood is spread.    Robbing bees will take back contaminated honey to their own hives which will result in larva being fed with spore laced honey.  The disease will spread to many colonies within several miles from the infected hive.
You should always check for American foulbrood when examining your hives.  If you are able catch this disease early,  further spread can be prevented. 

9. Brood Disease American foulbrood
The way to test for this disease is to place a thin stick, twig, straw into a cell with this coffee brown gluey substance. Stir and draw the thin stick out. If the gluey substance sticks and ropes, it is most likely AFB.
You can also take a sample of comb from this frame and have your bee inspector send it in for confirmation of AFB.
Movie Clip

10. Brood Disease American foulbrood
Treatment:
If diagnosed as AFB, the colony and bees can be treated with Terramycin or Tylan. This must be used and consumed by the bees at least 4 weeks prior to a honey crop. These only mask the disease. The spores are not killed and can re-infect the hive
The only sure way to get rid of it…
- Prevention is done when there are occurrences of this disease in any neighboring apiary or particular area.  But this may be the way to make resistant bacteria also.  You take action depending on the degree of infection. 

11. Brood Disease American foulbrood Burn ………Not in a pile..
Treatment:
Burn ………Not in a pile..
Dig a hole and burn the infected equipment and then bury to cover any spores that may be left.
If disease is advanced, you should burn combs, frames and bees.  If not, you can move the bees into another clean hive and treat them with antibiotic.  It may be better not to risk it, but to get rid of the combs and bees completely.  You can reuse hive body and equipment but they must be thoroughly burned and cleaned. 
- In the natural environment who takes care of this? WAX MOTHS!

12. Brood Disease European Foulbrood

13. Brood Disease Good healthy brood European foulbrood
European foulbrood is considered to be the second most common honeybee disease. 

14. Brood Disease
European foulbrood
Cause
European foulbrood (EFB) is a brood disease of honeybees caused by the bacterium Melissococcus pluton.. Larvae are most susceptible to infection when they are less than 48 hours old, and usually die while still in the coiled state. Poor nutrition and severe stress, for example insecticide poisoning, often cause this disease to break out. The larvae first turn yellow then brown in color. The disease is usually noticed in early spring, and to a lesser extent in autumn.
European foulbrood is the disease of the open, uncapped brood, whereas American foulbrood is the disease of the closed, capped brood. 
So the biggest difference is that European foulbrood attacks younger larvae. 
Larvae infected change its white colour into gray and can usually be found in twisted position at the bottom of their cells. 
There may be dead larvae under the cappings.  In such situation it may resemble to American foulbrood and may be difficult to tell is it one or the other. 
Larvae are infested with food given to them by the bees. 
The cleaning bees being the ones stopping the disease are the ones that also spread the disease. 

15. Multiplication and spread
Brood Disease
European foulbrood
Multiplication and spread
The bacteria multiply vigorously in the gut of larval bees which have been given food contaminated with M. pluton.. As with American foulbrood, EFB can also be spread by:
bees robbing infected hives
transferring infected honey supers and combs to clean hives
using contaminated beekeeping equipment
feeding infected honey and pollen.
Remains of the dead brood can be removed easier than that of the American foulbrood, so the bees are able to clean cells.  That could be the reason why it is considered less dangerous than American foulbrood. 
EFB does not form spores but can overwinter on comb

16. Brood Disease
European foulbrood
Treatment: Good beekeeping hygiene will keep this disease in control, however, if a hive should be found with EFB it is important to prevent any robbing of the hive and frames from this hive should not be transferred to any other hive. 
Treatment with terramycin – A colony recovers rapidly. The effect of EFB is to reduce a colonies bee population and thus reduce a honey crop. 
Also consider requeening if the bees are not cleaning up the disease.
It is recommended to burn highly infected frames and combs.  Hive body should be scorched thoroughly. 
Prevention should be done when there are occurrences of this disease in any neighboring apiary or particular area just like with American foulbrood. 
And just like American foulbrood, one of the most important things to do is to check bees regularly so that you can make an early recognition.  If found anywhere close to you, you should check even more often. 
Keeping the colony strong and healthy and keeping hive clean is certainly the best preventive for any disease.  It can be done by replacing the hive with the one you cleaned and scorched. 
The same goes for frames and combs which can be replaced at regular basis too. 
European foulbrood can be treated with oxytetracycline or similar antibiotic. 

17. Brood Disease Chalkbrood

18. Brood Disease Good healthy brood Chalkbrood

19. Brood Disease
Chalkbrood
Identification: A fungal disease caused by Ascosphaera apis .  It is now found throughout the United States. 
It is a disease of stress in the early spring to early summer.  Severe cases can be found in the comb later in the year. 
Often the bees will try to remove the mummy larva -- it is called chalk brood because the mummies are chalk like in appearance and touch.  These mummies can often be seen at the entrance of the hive.  
The spores of A. apis require a nearly anaerobic (non-air) environment for germination, but the mycelium requires an aerobic (air) environment for growth
Transmission of spores may be by wind from mummies carried to the exterior of the hives.
Spores could he picked up by foraging bees at nectar, pollen, or water sources and passed on to larvae in their food;
or infection could be spread by adult bees with contaminated mouth and body parts.
At Madison, colonies in outyards not showing chalkbrood in 1974 were requeened with queens reared in colonies at the homeyard that contained chalkbrood. In 1975, all these outyards showed some colonies with chalkbrood, an indication that the infection had spread to them via queens. In the spring of 1975, colonies clean in 1974 were requeened with queens purchased from a breeder who had chalkbrood in his outfit. During the summer of 1975, these colonies showed some chalkhrood, further evidence that queens may disseminate the disease. Spread via queens could account for the rapid spread throughout the country.

20. Brood Disease
Chalkbrood
Treatment: There is no chemical approved treatment for this disease.  The best management plan would be to: strengthen a weak hive with more brood and bees, replace the queen (literature indicates that it might be genetic characteristic) with a queen of known hygienic behavior.  
To avoid spreading chalkbrood, you can avoid using pollen from a chalkbrood hive for supplemental feeding and avoid mixing  frames of comb from a chalkbrood hive with other hives you may have.
Bury those mummies found

21. Brood Disease Sacbrood
Sacbrood:  It is a viral infection of the larva and is named after the sac-like appearance of dead larvae.  The skin of the larva is tough and rubbery and if pulled from the cell with a pair of tweezers, will look like a thin sac covering the dead larva.    It is not a common bee disease.
Treatment :   There is no treatment for viral diseases. Requeening with good stock may help.
About the time the cell is sealed, the larva dies. When it does, the head end turns up like the end of a gondola and remains in that position; also the pearly white color begins to darken, and the skin then becomes tough and the contents watery. At that stage, the larva, which resembles a liquid-filled sac, can be removed from the cell intact; hence, the name Sacbrood.
The dead larva then continues to dry and harden until the dried-down scale is almost black. The head end is usually the darkest. Scales of larvae dead of Sacbrood can be removed from the cell easily.
Transmission: The virus is probably fed to the young larva by the nurse bees in the brood food. It multiplies rapidly within the larva until it causes death. Then the house bees cleaning out the cells probably distribute the virus to other larvae within the hive. The disease is usually limited to one or a few colonies in an apiary.

22. Nosema Diseases
Nosema  A protozoan disease caused by Nosema apis or  Nosema ceranae    
This is an adult bee disease.
Treatment :   Feeding Fumagilin (Fumidil-B) in syrup as directed
The dormant stage of nosema is a long lived spore which is resistant to temperature extremes and dehydration.
Nosema apis spores cannot be killed by freezing contaminated comb.
Nosema spores are spread to other colony members through fecal matter.
The disease impairs the digestion of pollen thereby shortening the life of the bee.
A greater proportion of worker bees become infected than drones or queens, probably due to the comb cleaning activities of young bees in which drones and queens do not participate.

23. Other Minor Diseases Paralysis
Identification:  It is a viral infection of the adult bee.  Often the beekeeper will notice that the bees are hairless or very glossy as in old age.  One might notice a number of bees crawling on the ground around the hive entrance, or trembling on the landing board unable to fly.   Trembling could be a symptom of pesticide poisoning as well.   In some cases the bees just disappear or dwindle away.
Treatment:  No treatment for a viral disease.  Requeening with good stock may help.

24. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mite Tracheal Mite Small Hive Beetle
Wax moth

25. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mites Varroa Mite
The greatest threat to all beekeepers . It has been responsible for more beekeepers leaving beekeeping than anything else. This is the honey bees # 1 enemy.

26. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mites
Identification: This mite is known as varroa destructor.    Varroa mites can be found in the United States except Hawaii.  The mite is small but can be seen with the naked eye.  Mites are about the size of a pin head and are reddish/brown in color. 

27. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mites
They can be detected by these methods: 
Sticky board
Checking drone brood
Sugar Roll or Ether Roll
Let’s discuss them individually......

28. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mites
They can be detected by several methods. 
Most common is the sticky board test. A protective screen is placed over the sticky board and the sticky board is left in the hive for a period of 24 hours. The mites on the sticky board are then counted. A sticky board can be made easily by taking a sheet of wax paper and coating it with vegetable oil. Lay it on the bottom board and place screen over it. This will also detect chalk brood.
One is with varroa screens and a sticky board.  Mites fall through the screen onto the sticky board where then can then be detected and counted to determine the infestation level. 

29. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mites
They can be detected by several methods. 
Second method involves checking drone brood for mites like shown in the picture. You can check individual capped drone cells -- use your hive tool or a cappings fork to remove pupa from the drone comb.
The second method involves checking drone brood for mites.

30. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mites
They can be detected by several methods. 
Third method involves scooping up 100 or so bees and subjecting them to a sugar roll or ether roll test.  The sugar roll test does not kill the bees and is preferred.  The method is simple.  Scoop up the bees into a pint jar, add powdered sugar (a tablespoon will do) and shake and roll the jar.  Varroa mites will drop off the bees to the bottom  of the jar where they can be counted.
The third method  involves scooping up 100 or so bees and subjecting them to a sugar roll or ether roll test.  The sugar roll test does not kill the bees and is preferred.  The method is simple.  Scoop up the bees into a pint jar, add powdered sugar (a tablespoon will do) and shake and roll the jar. 
Varroa mites will drop off the bees to the bottom  of the jar where they can be counted.

31. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mites
They can be detected by several methods. 
Remember that more than 85% of the mites in a colony are in capped brood cells and not visually detectable. If a bee inspector see one mite, he or she will indicate on inspection report that all hives in your bee yard are infected.
independent studies have suggested that the economic threshold for varroa mites is around 3000 mites/colony colony (Delaplane and Hood 1997).

32. Insect pests in hives Varroa Mites Treatment: In general use:
Apistan strips (10% fluvalinate)
CheckMite+ (Coumaphos)
Formic Acid
Sucrocide
Apiguard (Thymol)
Powdered sugar
Don’t ask me which is best!

33. Tracheal Mites Still a problem. Introduced in the mid 1880’s.
Insect pests in hives
Tracheal Mites
Still a problem. Introduced in the mid 1880’s.

34. Insect pests in hives Tracheal Mites
Identification:  This mite is named Acarapis woodi .  It was first identified as the Isle of Wight Disease.  This mite has become well established in the United States except Hawaii.  These mites can be observed under a microscope.  They are found in the tracheae of adult honey bees. 

35. Insect pests in hives Tracheal Mites
  Highly infested hives usually die in the fall or winter.  One may find few bees in a dead hive.  This is contrary to starvation when most of the bees will be on the face of the comb -- dead.   Early detection is important.  If the beekeeper notices a rapid decline in population, the situation is already out of hand. 
Fortunately, breeding better queen bees with resistance to the tracheal mite has reduced the tracheal mite problem from what it was 10 years ago.

36. Insect pests in hives
Small Hive Beetles

37. Insect pests in hives Small Hive Beetles
Identification:  The SHB is found primarily in the Southern states of the United States is now found in many other states especially states that import bees for pollination.  It is called: Aethina tumida . 
The small beetle is black and can be found moving rapidly inside the hive when exposed to sun light.
The Larvae may be mistaken for wax moth larva but they do not spin cocoons as the wax moth larva and leave a slime trail within the hive.  They can make a complete mess of a hive which can result in the loss of comb in the frames and loss of honey crop.  This beetle seems to prefer weak hives especially queen less hives to do its damage.

38. Insect pests in hives Small Hive Beetles
Treatment:  Several treatments are available to the beekeeper for SHB. 
First, a ground drench - SHB larva crawl from the entrance of a hive and pupate in the ground around the hive stand.  The product is called: GardStar®.  Always read label directions for the use of the product. 
Second, CheckMite+ - TM a strip which controls both SHB and Varroa mites.

39. Insect pests in hives Small Hive Beetles
Treatment:  Several treatments are available to the beekeeper for SHB. 
Third , various trap designs.
Hood Trap - designed by Mike Hood.
West Beetle Trap
AJ Beetle Eater Trap

40. Insect pests in hives
Wax Moths

41. Insect pests in hives Wax Moths
Identification:      There are two general types found in the United States: Galleria mellonella L. the Greater Wax Moth and Achroia grisella F. the Lesser Wax Moth.
Both do considerable damage to bee hives that are in weak condition and to stored comb in supers.   It is the Wax moth larva that are a serious problem in warm weather and dark conditions.  They can do a lot of damage in a very short period of time.

42. Insect pests in hives Wax Moths
  Treatment:  Wax moths attack weak hives.  Strong hives will kept them under control.  
Wax moths do not like light.  Exposing equipment to light will deter moths
Closing up equipment tightly and fumigating with "Para-moth" (Para-Dichlorobenzene crystals) a product available from most bee suppliers
Using biological control such as Bacillus thuringiensis (BT-401, Certan, Xentari)
See Ann Harman’s article in February 2007 Bee Culture Magazine. A good investment in beekeeping is to subscribe to the bee magazines.

43. And talking about pests……..
Here are a few:
Ants
Yellow Jackets
Mice
Skunks
Ratcoons
Snakes

44. The End