"Honeybee hives have long provided humans with honey and beeswax. Such commercial uses have spawned a large beekeeping industry, though many species still occur in the wild."
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Learn more about them at http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/honeybee.html
Diseases
There are four diseases listed here:
- Sacbrood
- Chronic Bee Paralysis
- Black Queen Cell Virus
- Deformed Wing Virus
Sacbrood
Symptoms of sacbrood include partially uncapped cells scattered about the frame or capped cells that remain sealed after others have emerged. Diseased individuals inside cells will have darkened heads that curl upward, resembling a slipper inside the cell. The diseased prepupae fails to pupate and turns from pearl white to pale yellow to light brown and finally, dark brown. The skin is flaccid and the body watery. The dark brown individual becomes a wrinkled, brittle scale that is easily removed from the cells.
Researches estimate that one larva killed by the sacbrood virus contains enough virus to kill over one million larvae.
The viral infection process in not known as well what triggers the infection or how it persists.
Chronic Bee Paralysis
(Hairless black syndrome)
These viral infection symptoms appear only in adult bees.
They are
- trembling motion of wings and body
- unable to fly, tend to resort to crawling up to hive
- bloated abdomen and partially spread or dislocated wings
- lack of hair causes shiny and greasy appearance
Lack of hair causes bees to be confused with robbing bees. Some mistaken infected bees are chewed by other bees and haressed by guard bees. Within a few days of the onset of symptoms, the adult bees dies.
The virus is spread from bee to bee by direct body contact. Food exchange does not appear to be an important mode of spread. Bees vary genetically in susceptibility; therefore requeening is a good practice if symptoms appear.
Black Queen Cell Virus
As the name suggests, the virus infects the queen larvae. The immature larvae dies and turns black after its cell is sealed.
The departure of the queen larvae could be serious if the infection were to spread to all the queen larvae.
There may be an association between Black queen cell virus and Nosema disease. Treating colonies with Fumidil-B® to control Nosema may help keep this disease at bay.
Deformed Wing Virus (DWV)
Parasitic Varroa mites are suspected to be associated with the spread of DWV or in its activation.
The bee pupae at white-eyed stage is susceptible to this virus. The virus multiplies slowly in the infected bee allowing it to reach adulthood. The adult bees have misshapened wings and soon die.
The best management against DWV is aimed at parasitic Varroa mites.
[Image from: http://www.ent.uga.edu/Bees/disorders/viral-diseases.html ]
