The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1919-07-23
BEE INSPECTOR
FINDS GREAT DEAL
OF FOUL BROOD
VERY FEW OF MANY LOCAL
YARDS ARE FOUND ENTIRELY
FREE FROM DISEASE

Paul Altman, a deputy inspector
from the state bee inspectors cfice
at East Lansing, was in the city on
Thursday, Friday and Saturday of
last week and worked through the
city and vicinity lying near here in
the interests of the department with
which he is connected in an effort to
find and diagnose bee diseases which
can and must be cured.
Mr.. Altman was in company with
Roland Leland, local side line bee
keeper and the latter took the state
inspector tc all the bee yards which
could be visited during the three days
which he was in this vicinity. Very
few, if any, yards were to be found
where there was not some bee disease
present. Of course in a number of
cases where only one or two swarms
were kept, no disease was found but
where the yards ranged from ten
hives upward, Mr.. Altman informed
us that in practically all of them there
was cne Or more hives diseased.
European foul brood was the most
common disease encountered and with
one exception was the only form Of
bee diease found near here. This was
4
and serious forms, but there was no
American foul brood found. The
European is the more easily disposed
of and for that reason local beemen
will have no serious time ahead of
them in getting rid of the disease if
it was found in their yards. American
foul brood is the practically hopeless
kind and there has been no race of
vat hat OK a.
shake off it's ravages and the only
remedy thus far known as reliable
is to burn the hive. The method used
in fighting European foul brood is
to find the queen and kill her and
then after wait Of about ten days,
during which time all brood will be
Matched out, introduce new well
mated Italian queen The Italian
bees are better able to throw off
foul brood than bybirds, or other
breeds.
Cross ccmbed hives were found in
number of cases and their owners
were told to remedy the evil at once.
Were a cross comb hive easily ac-
cessible and so that it could be in
spected for disease, it would not con-
stitute much Of a menace to the bee
keeping profession, but in that cross
combed hives cannot be inspected.
foul brood or other diseases might
exist and increase with no one being
aware of it and it might spread to
every hive in an apiary and work
heavy loss to the owner Of the apiary
in which it started but also to those
hives in neighboring yards.
A rare disease was found in the
bee yard of Mark Brown, of Front
street when the inspectors attention
was called to what a number of peo-
pie thought was a result of a battle
royal between the bees who legally
occupied the hive and those which
hooked like robbers. Hundreds of
bees laid around the entrance to
to the hive and there was continually
something in the nature of a fight
going on between the bees The bees
which were being stung to death
and carried away appeared ti be
black bodied and of a hard, glossy
appearance. The inspector staned
that it was the first case that he had
discovered in lcng time and that il
was paralysis or Isle of Wight dis
ease. He stated that it was not in
fectious and that while a number Of
bees would be attacked by it and die.
it was usually of short duration and
was very rare.
The Inspector gave school of in
srtucticn at the Brown yard Satur-
day afternoon and quite a number of
local beemen were there and gained
some very valuable knowledge from
the meeting. One main point being
that every hive should be given new
queen at least once every two years
This will insure a good strong col
onv, practically free from disease and
able to gather as near a 100 per cent
crop of honey as it is possible.
In going through the various bee
yards in this locality, Mr.. Altman
stated that here as in most other
places throughout the state, the honey
crop would be very light. This he
attributed to number Of causes.
among them being the dry weather of
the present time, with practically no
nectar coming in. The cold weather
cf last spring is to blame in a large
measure for this shortage as it vas
so cold that the bees could not gather
honey at the time when apple trees
and other fruit trees were in bloom.
AS a result cf the inspectors visit
there will be many a hive requeened
and the bee keepers will find them
selves far better off in the end than
had the visit to the local yards not
been made.