Afb

[Finman]

, bees with a good immune system will never have a case of AFB. .

That is humbug. " I heard" things.

EFB you get rid of by changing the Queen. EFB is not bad disease.

 

[Finman]

The classic sign of AFB is the prominent extended tongue of the desiccated pupae

You really need to read Real knowledge about AFB. You have too much "I heard"
stories.

Classic sign of AFB is coffee brown slime in the cell and tiny hole in the brood cap.
Later you feel odd smell when you open the hive.

In new combs you may see dry slime scale on the bottom of cells.

 

[Finman]

I have heard, that in Asia, ANY disease is handled by replacing the Queen

I bet that your ears are selective!

.

 

[mazzamazda]

WE allow absolutely NO importation of any bee product !

Use of drugs or shook swarm methods is highly illegal

The classic sign of AFB is the prominent extended tongue of the desiccated pupae

I wonder if dirty old comb, is a contributor ?

I have heard, that in Asia, ANY disease is handled by replacing the Queen

I sometimes notice pupae that look like above, dark. Nearly always, scattered brood pattern first, as soon as I see that alarm bells ring, next, perforated cell caps, sometimes a strong smell, sometime nothing. I heard about dirty old comb so I spent thousands replacing all old comb, I only run new comb as shown here. This was one perforated cell cap in a 20 frame 12X14 double brood hive, it had a strong smell.

[URL=http://s750.photobucket.com/user/mazzamark/media/DSC_7713.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[mazzamazda]

This shows the full frame and the before I unpeeled the broken cell cap, you may ask why I've taken a pic before I had a look, I KNEW it was AFB, my wife was with me and said "what is that smell" so I took the pic. This was one cell in a 20 frame hive. This is what I'm talking about when I say you must catch AFB early and it is not a problem.


[URL=http://s750.photobucket.com/user/mazzamark/media/DSC_7708.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[ladaok]

So you find one cell. what do you do now, and is your approach successful ?

Is your gear the cause of re - contamination' or are your stock robbing out another apiary ?

 

[Finman]

So you find one cell. what do you do now, and is your approach successful ?

Is your gear the cause of re - contamination' or are your stock robbing out another apiary ?

If you see one cell, propably after a week you will find hundreds and next week half of brood is dead. Bees try to clean the bacterium slime and then they spread spores to new larvae.

What do I do.... In NZ it is strictly forbidden.

 

[SDM]

I actually dont think AFB is that infectious, I didnt even bother to scortch my old hive out last year and its fine, no sign of AFB a year on. Dont get me wrong, a pot of alcohol is at the site and I burn the hive tool and clean after every hive, I dont go overboard though. I have had a horrendous time though and in 2014 I burned over 50 hives. I dont panic now, i treat, burn the frames, save the bees and spot signs early, for me its no different now to checking for eggs, maybe a queen or varroa.

You get it every year but don't think it's that infectious ???

 

[ladaok]

If you see one cell, propably after a week you will find hundreds and next week half of brood is dead. Bees try to clean the bacterium slime and then they spread spores to new larvae.

What do I do.... In NZ it is strictly forbidden.

and you do what ?

 

[Finman]

and you do what ?

Shook swarm onto foundations....

No one knows if you do that.
.

 

[Plenty of honey]

Thanks for posting these Pics Mazzamazda.
The principle of checking your brood nest meticulously EVERYTIME you inspect is so important, no matter who you are, where you keep your bees and how you keep them.
This is a brilliant example of how every odd pin hole should be investigated.
If its not a larvae being capped over, if its not honey being capped over, if its not a bee being born, where bees outside to the capping can assist or help uncap an emerging nurse bee or drone, always think otherwise. Its the only way to be sure.

I know beekeepers who cant even see the brood properly, so how on earth they are supposed to spot this, its a difficult thing. No wonder why AFB isn't usually found before is usually spread to neighbouring colonies!!
Underpinning knowledge is always key to successful beekeeping.

 

[Finman]

You get it every year but don't think it's that infectious ???

Burning your clothes does not make AFB less infectious.

Worst is that beekeepers cannot speak about AFB, because even speaking is against the law.
.

 

[mazzamazda]

So you find one cell. what do you do now, and is your approach successful ?

Is your gear the cause of re - contamination' or are your stock robbing out another apiary ?

I as Finman said do a shook swarm and treat with Tylosin, burn the frames. I then sometime later do another shook swarm which gets rid of traces of the antibiotic. Knocks back the colony hugely but it comes back. It works well for me and saves the bees.

I havent had re-contamination since 2014.

 

[mazzamazda]

You get it every year but don't think it's that infectious ???

If it was really infectious would I not be dealing with case after case during the season? I get one case per year.

I'm careful when checking, wear disposable gloves, burn hive tool between hives but I dont go crazy disinfecting everything. I reuse the hives.

 

[mazzamazda]

If you see one cell, propably after a week you will find hundreds and next week half of brood is dead. Bees try to clean the bacterium slime and then they spread spores to new larvae.

What do I do.... In NZ it is strictly forbidden.

Agreed, once it starts one full brood cycle there is huge irreversible damage. What you do..........works!!!!

 

[Beefriendly]

I as Finman said do a shook swarm and treat with Tylosin, burn the frames. I then sometime later do another shook swarm which gets rid of traces of the antibiotic. Knocks back the colony hugely but it comes back. It works well for me and saves the bees.

I havent had re-contamination since 2014.

Very interesting, thanks for posting what you do and those pictures are excellent. May I ask to borrow them for the occasional disease lecture I give? Full acknowledgements as to source will obviously be given.

 

[Finman]

If you see one cell, propably after a week you will find hundreds and next week half of brood is dead..

In this phase tylosine kills the bacterium, and no more sick brood appear. You can save the brood and let them emerge.
But bacterium spores are in the combs inside larva pupa silk.
Spores are in last summer honey too in super combs.

Disease is expencive because you must destroy all frames of the hive.

Experts say that best way to infect hives is to move frames between hives.
.

 

[foghornleghorn]

Agreed, once it starts one full brood cycle there is huge irreversible damage. What you do..........works!!!!

How often do you do a full inspection of all frames?

 

[mazzamazda]

Very interesting, thanks for posting what you do and those pictures are excellent. May I ask to borrow them for the occasional disease lecture I give? Full acknowledgements as to source will obviously be given.

Thank you! Yes of course you can have the pictures, you dont have to say where the pictures came from, if someone gets something from it, I'm happy.

 

[mazzamazda]

How often do you do a full inspection of all frames?

In all hives? all honesty, not often, maybe twice a year. I look for signs though and if I see something, pepperpot pattern, broken cell caps, dark larvae, dead cells etc, I always investigate.