Honey bee pests and diseases (excluding varroa and tracheal mites).

1. Honey Bee
Pests and
Diseases
Wright County Beekeepers
July 10, 2014
Presented by: Rick Bledsoe

2. Sm all Hive Beet le
(SHB)
First Identified in Florida in 1998.

3. Widespread throughout the southern US.
This pest can fly up to 15 miles.
The adult beetle does not harm the bees directly;
it’s the larva that feed on the honey, pollen, and
brood.
Sm all Hive Beet le (SHB)

4. SHB Larvae

5. Potential Hive Damage by Small
Hive Beetle Larvae
Contaminated honey:
SHB larval defecation in honey introduces yeast which
will result in fermentation
Queen may cease laying
Absconding of the bees

6. Maintain a clean strong hive
Don’t put your hives in full shade
Sm all Hive Beet le (SHB)

7. Diatomaceous Earth: a siliceous sedimentary
rock that slices the insects as they crawl on and in
the ground.
Chemical treatments – not needed in this area
Sm all Hive Beet le (SHB)
Sunlight—avoid shady locations

8. Don’t let your honey sit when getting ready to
process. Make sure you process it immediately!
They can take over your supers of honey you just
pulled off.
Consider placing a fluorescent light on the floor of
your honey house while extracting honey to attract
SHB larva.
Important!

9. Wax Mot hs
Strong hives will kill wax
moths and their larva.
Freezing frames for 48
hours will kill eggs—
after winter arrives your
frames should be safe
until spring.

11. Wax moths feed on the comb.
Storage of honey supers is
critical.

12. The napthalene is toxic and stays
in the wax

13. Ant s and ot her insec t s
Other insects shouldn’t be much of a problem.
The bees should be able to defend against them.
Keep a strong hive.

14. The bees will probably be in a cluster and won’t
be able to get them out.
Mice
They like the food, shelter and warmth of the hive.

15. Raccoons and Skunks
They like to eat the bees.
Elevating the hives off the
ground helps the bees to fend
them off.
Consider top entrance.
Board with nails to prevent standing in front of
hive. Chicken wire may help.

16. Bears
They can be very determined.
They are after the brood and the honey.
You’ll probably have to fence in the bee yard.
An electric fence can be a deterrent.
The Conservation Department may be of help.

18. Bear Sightings in Southern Missouri

19. Am eric an Foulbrood (AFB)
A spore-forming bacterium.
Begins when larva ingest
spores from contaminated food.
Inside the larva’s gut the spores
germinate and become active,
then invades the body tissue.
The larva/pupa dies after the
cell is capped.

20. Am eric an Foulbrood Sym pt om s
Cappings will appear sunken, perforated,
discolored, or greasy.
Very foul odor.
Brood pattern will be scattered and spotty.
The contents of the cells
will be a ropey goo.

25. HOLTS milk tes t
Combine one teaspoon powdered milk with 100 ml
(slightly less than half cup) of water and mix
thoroughly.
Pour the milk into two small, clear, glass vials or
other similar containers.
Collect sample by opening a diseased cell and
stirring the contents with a toothpick. Collect as
much of the larval remains as possible on the
toothpick and place in a clean container or wrap in
foil.

26. Pos itive AFB s ample
Insert the sample into one
of the prepared vials. Do nothing
with the second sample. Place
both vials in a warm location for
one hour.
After one hour examine the
samples. If the sample is positive,
the vial with the AFB sample will
become clear. Use the second
sample for comparison.

27. Am eric an Foulbrood Treat m ent
Destroy Hives.
The spores will survive 50
years or longer by burying
them.
Terramycin antibiotic treatment
will treat the disease but will
not affect the spores.
There have been reports of
AFB being resistant to
Terramycin.

28. MAKE SURE you sterilize all
equipment after you’ve been in a
hive infected with AFB.
AFB is the deadliest disease for
bees.

29. Am eric an Foulbrood Treat m ent
Beekeepers in the US have used antibiotics as a
preventative treatment for AFB. This practice is
no longer recommended. Why?
- The antibiotic kills ONLY the vegetative
disease, which is not infectious. Antibiotics do
not kill the infectious spores.
- Regular, preventative doses of antibiotics is
one factor that promotes the development of
resistance to the antibiotic.
- Routine doses of antibiotics gives the
beekeeper a false sense of security.

30. Alternative Treatment for AFB
Set up new hive bodies with new frames
of foundation.
Shake bees off frames of infected hive
into new hive.
Treat bees with Terramycin or Tylan as
directed.
Requeen the affected colony.

31. Alternative Treatment for AFB
Burn frames from infected hive.
Destroy by burning, or scorch the inside
surfaces with a torch.

32. Alternative Treatment for AFB
Consider if risk is worth it
Some states have required burning
of hives infected with AFB
Missouri does not require burning
Sterilize all tools to avoid infecting
other hives

33. European Foulbrood (EFB)
A bacterial disease of the larva.
Not as destructive as AFB.
EFB bacteria don’t form persistent spores, unlike
AFB.
Begins when larva ingest bacteria from contaminated
food.
Inside the larva’s gut the bacteria grows and then
competes for nutrients causing the larva to eat more.
The nurse bees may detect this and discard the larva
or it will end up dying.

34. European Foulbrood (EFB)
Sym pt om s
May have a sour odor
Dead uncapped brood
Cells will not be ropey
Larva may appear
tan or brown

35. European Foulbrood (EFB)
Treat m ent
Re-Queening is the preferred
treatment
Terramycin antibiotic treatment
is the medication authorized by
the FDA
Treat with antibiotics only if
colony does not recover on it’s
own
Many times clears up on its own

36. Don’t use antibiotics as a
preventative—bacteria will
become immune to
treatment

37. A common disease
that infects the
intestinal tract of
adult bees.
Similar to dysentery
in humans.
Affects adult honey
bees.
Nosema

38. Two Strains:
●Nosema Apis
●Nosema Ceranae
Originally found in the Asian honey bee. Crossed over
to the European honey bee.
One of the major suspects in CCD.
Nosema

39. Nosem a Sym pt om s
 Spring colonies build up slowly or not at all.
 Bees appear weak and may crawl aimlessly around
the front of the hive.
 The hive has a characteristic spotting. Mustard-
brown feces may appear on or around the hive.

40. Nosem a Treat m ent
Fumagilin-B is the only EPA
registered treatment.
Treat with Fumagilin-B in the
Fall and Spring.
Mix it in with feed (sugar
syrup). Make sure you follow
directions.
Soluble with feed and mixes
easily.

41. Chalk brood
 A Common fungal disease that affects the
larva.
 Passed to larva by direct contact or eating
contaminated food.
 Fungus germinates and invades the gut
and competes for nutrients.
 If the larva dies, the fungus invades the
body and forms sporulating bodies that
propagate the pathogen.
 Most common in damp conditions.

42. Chalk brood Treat m ent s
 No registered chemical
treatments.
 Look at hive ventilation.
 Replace old comb with new
foundation.
 Strongly consider re-
queening the hive.
 Don’t raise a queen from a
hive that has had
chalkbrood.

43. Sac brood
 Sacbrood is a viral disease of
the blood. Similar to the
common cold.
 This a rare disease and will
probably clear up on it’s own.
 Larva will appear grayish to
black.
 Skin has a watery, sack-like
appearance.
 There is no approved
chemical treatment.

44. http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/PDFs/AGRS116.pdf

45. What killed my bees?
For brood disease laboratory diagnosis,
send samples to:
The Beltsville Bee Lab
Bldg. 476
BARC-East
Beltsville, MD 20705
Phone: 301-504-8250
http://ars.usda.gov