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Common diseases, parasites, pests, and ailments of the honey bee include: The honeybee is a colonial insect that is often maintained, fed, and transported by farmers. ...
Varroa mites
 Varroa mite on a honey bee larva Main articles: Varroa destructor Varroa mite Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 03:49, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Binomial name Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman, 2000 Varroa destructor is an external parasitic mite that attacks honey bees Apis cerana and Apis mellifera, the bumblebee Bombus pennsylvanicus, the scarab beetle Palpada vinetorum and the flower-fly Phanaeus vindex. ...
Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni are parasitic mites that feed off the bodily fluids of adult, pupal and larval bees. Varroa mites can be seen with the naked eye as a small red or brown spot on the bee's thorax. Varroa is a carrier for a virus that is particularly damaging to the bees. Bees that are infected with this virus during their development will often have a visible "K-wing" deformity. A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. ...
Families Tetranychidae - Spider mites Eriophyidae - Gall mites Sarcoptidae - Sarcoptic Mange mites The mites and ticks, order Acarina or Acari, belong to the Arachnida and are among the most diverse and successful of all the invertebrate groups, although some way behind the insects. ...
Chrysalis of Gulf Fritillary in Georgetown, South Carolina Pupation of Inachis io A pupa (plural: pupae or pupas) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. ...
A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ...
Groups I: dsDNA viruses II: ssDNA viruses III: dsRNA viruses IV: (+)ssRNA viruses V: (-)ssRNA viruses VI: ssRNA-RT viruses VII: dsDNA-RT viruses A virus (Latin, poison) is a microscopic particle that can infect the cells of a biological organism. ...
Varroa has led to the virtual elimination of feral bee colonies in many areas and is a major problem for kept bees in apiaries. Some feral populations are now recovering — it appears that they have been naturally selected for varroa resistance (these so-called feral populations may be africanized bees). An Apiary in South Carolina, Langstroth hives on pallets An apiary (also known in the US as a bee yard) is a place where beehives of honeybees are kept. ...
The Galápagos Islands hold 13 species of finches that are closely related and differ most markedly in the shape of their beaks. ...
Varroa was first discovered in Southeast Asia in about 1904, but has now spread virtually worldwide. Varroa was discovered in the United States in 1987, in New Zealand in 2000. 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
This article is about the year 2000. ...
Varroa is generally not a problem for a hive that is growing strongly. When the hive population growth reduced in preparation for winter or due to poor late summer forage the mite population growth can overtake that of the bees and can then destroy the hive. Often a colony will simply abscond (leave as in a swarm, but leaving no population behind) under such conditions.
Acarapis woodi is a small parasitic mite that infests the airways of the honey bee. The first known infestation of the mites occurred in the British Isles in the early 20th century. First observed on the Isle of Wight in 1904, the mystery illness known as Isle of Wight Disease was not identified as caused by a parasite until 1921. It quickly spread to the rest of Great Britain. It was regarded as having wiped out the entire bee population of the isles (later genetic studies have found remnants that did survive) and dealt a devastating blow to British beekeeping. Brother Adam at the Buckfast Abbey developed a resistant hybrid bee known as the Buckfast bee, which is now available worldwide to combat acarine disease. Windpipe redirects here. ...
Species Acarapis woodi are related to ticks and spiders. ...
(19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...
The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire. ...
1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Buckfast Abbey in Buckfastleigh, Devon is one of a small number of active monasteries in Britain today. ...
This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...
Diagnosis for tracheal mites generally involves the dissection and microscopic examination of a sample of bees from the hive. Dissected rat showing major organs. ...
A microscope (Greek: (micron) = small + (skopein) = to look at) is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. ...
Acarine mites, formerly known as tracheal mites are believed to have entered the US in 1984 via Mexico.
Mature female acarine mites leave the bee's airway and climb out on a hair of the bee where they wait until they can transfer to a young bee. Once on the new bee, they will move into the airways and begin laying eggs.
Treatment Acarine mites are commonly controlled with grease patties (typically made from 1 part vegetable shortening mixed with 3-4 parts powdered sugar) placed on the top bars of the hive. The bees come to eat the sugar and pick up traces of shortening which disrupts the mite's ability to identify a young bee. Some of the mites waiting to transfer to a new host will remain on the original host. Others will transfer to a random bee - a proportion of which will die of other causes before the mite can reproduce.
Menthol, either allowed to vaporize from crystal form or mixed into the grease patties, is also often used to treat acarine mites. Menthol is a covalent organic compound made synthetically or obtained from peppermint or other mint oils. ...
American foulbrood (AFB)  Field test for American Foulbrood Paenibacillus larvae (formerly classified as Bacillus larvae) is a spore-forming bacterium. This disease only affects the bee larvae but is highly infectious and deadly to bees. Infected larvae will darken and die. Lab testing is necessary for definitive diagnosis, but a good field test is to touch a dead larva with a toothpick or twig. It will be sticky and "ropey" (drawn out). Foulbrood also has a characteristic odor, and experienced beekeepers with a good sense of smell, can often detect the disease upon opening a hive. In the photo at right, some larvae are healthy while others are diseased. Capped cells with decomposing larvae are sunken, as can be seen at lower right. Some caps may be torn as well. Compare with healthy brood. Paenibacillus is a genus of bacteria, originally included within Bacillus. ...
Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ...
Recently hatched honeybee larvae are feeding on royal jelly for three days. ...
Treatment AFB spores are present in virtually every hive. Weakened colonies can become diseased. Drugs, can boost the colonies defenses to the non-resistant disease pathogen. Chemical treatment of American foulbrood is possible using oxytetracycline hydrochloride (Terramycin). Another drug treatment is tylosin tartrate that was US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in 2005. Oxytetracycline is known as a broad-spectrum antibiotic due to its activity against such a wide range of infections. ...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating food (humans and animal), dietary supplements, drugs (human and animal), cosmetics, medical devices (human and animal) and radiation emitting devices (including non-medical devices), biologics, and...
Chemical treatment is sometimes used prophylactically, but this is a source of considerable controversy because the bacterium seems to be rapidly developing resistance.
Because of the persistence of the spores (which can survive up to 40 years), many State Apiary Inspectors require an AFB diseased hive to be burned. Other methods of containing the spread of disease are burning the frames and comb and thoroughly flame scorching the interior of the hive body, bottom board and covers. Dipping the hive parts in hot paraffin wax or a sodium hypochlorite solution (bleach) also renders the AFB spores innocuous. Paraffin is a common name for a group of alkane hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2, where n is greater than about 20, discovered by Carl Reichenbach. ...
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European foulbrood (EFB) Melissococcus pluton is a bacterium that infests the guts of bee larvae. European foulbrood is less deadly to a colony than is American foulbrood. Melissococcus pluton does not form spores, though it can overwinter on comb.
European foulbrood is often considered a "stress" disease - a disease that is dangerous only if the colony is already under stress for other reasons. An otherwise healthy colony can usually survive European foulbrood. An outbreak of the disease may be controlled chemically with oxytetracycline hydrochloride. Prophylatic treatments are not recommended as it leads to resistant bacteria.
Chalkbrood Ascophaera apis is a fungal disease that infests the gut of the larva. The fungus will compete with the larva for food, ultimately causing it to starve. The fungus will then go on to consume the rest of the larva's body, causing it to appear white and 'chalky'.
Chalkbrood is often considered another "stress" disease because the fungal spores are always present but are manageable by an otherwise healthy colony. Chalkbrood is most commonly visible during wet springs. Hives with Chalkbrood can generally be recovered by increasing the ventilation through the hive and/or by requeening the hive.
Nosema Nosema apis is a spore-forming parasite that invades the intestinal tracts of adult bees and causes nosema disease. Nosema is also associated with Black queen-cell virus. Nosema is normally only a problem when the bees can not leave the hive to eliminate waste (for example, during an extended cold spell in winter or when the hives are enclosed in a wintering barn). When the bees are unable to void (cleansing flights), they can develop dysentery. Nosema apis is a microsporidian, a small, unicellular parasite that mainly affects honey bees. ...
Dysentery is an illness (formerly known as the bloody flux or simply flux) involving severe diarrhea that is often associated with blood in the feces. ...
Nosema is treated by increasing the ventilation through the hive. Some beekeepers will treat a hive with antibiotics. Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics Test plate. ...
Nosema can also be prevented or minimized by removing much of the honey from the beehive then feeding the bees on sugar water in the late fall. Sugar water made from refined sugar has lower ash content than flower nectar, reducing the risk of dysentery, and may have essentially the same nutritional content, although this remains a point of controversy among some beekeepers.
Dysentery is a condition resulting from a combination of long periods of inability to make cleansing flights (generally due to cold weather) and food stores which contain a high proportion of indigestible matter. As a bee's gut becomes engorged with feces that cannot be voided in flight as preferred by the bees, the bee voids within the hive. When enough bees do this the hive population rapidly collapses and death of the colony results. Dark honeys and honeydews have greater quantities of indigestible matter. Dysentery is an illness (formerly known as the bloody flux or simply flux) involving severe diarrhea that is often associated with blood in the feces. ...
Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky substance secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. ...
Occasional warm days in winter are critical for honey bee survival; dysentery problems increase in likelihood if there are periods of more than two or three weeks with temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. When cleansing flights are few, bees will often be forced out at times when the temperature is barely adequate for their wing muscles to function, and large quantities of bees may be seen dead in the snow around the hives.
Colonies that are found dead in spring from dysentery will have feces smeared over the frames and other hive parts.
In very cold areas of North America and Europe, where honeybees are kept in ventilated buildings during the coldest part of winter, no cleansing flights are possible, and all honey is removed from the hives and replaced with high fructose corn syrup which has nearly no indigestible matter.
 Comb slimed by hive beetle larvae. Hives infested at this level will drive out bee colonies. Aethina tumida is a small, dark-colored beetle that lives in beehives. The Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) is a bee-keeping pest. ...
Originally from Africa, the first discovery of small hive beetles in the western hemisphere occurred in the US. The first identified specimen was found in St. Lucie, FL in 1998. The earliest specimens confirmed since then were collected from Charleston, SC in 1996. By December 1999, small hive beetle has been reported in Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. St. ...
Charleston, South Carolinas Oldest City Charleston is an American city located in Charleston County, South Carolina. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Official language(s) None (English de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area Ranked 39th - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²) - Width 210 miles (338 km) - Length 320 miles (515 km) - % water 13. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area Ranked 44th - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²) - Width 183 miles (295 km) - Length 113 miles (182 km) - % water 13. ...
Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area Ranked 12th - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 400 miles (645 km) - % water 8. ...
Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area Ranked 47th - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²) - Width 70 miles (110 km) - Length 150 miles (240 km) - % water 14. ...
Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area Ranked 34th - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²) - Width 220 miles (355 km) - Length 220 miles (355 km) - % water 8. ...
Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area Ranked 33rd - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²) - Width 160 miles (255 km) - Length 280 miles (455 km) - % water 2. ...
This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
The life cycle of this beetle includes pupation in the ground outside of the hive. Controls to prevent ants from climbing into the hive are believed to also be effective against the hive beetle. Several beekeepers are experimenting with the use of diatomaceous earth around the hive as a way to disrupt the beetle's lifecycle. The diatoms abrade the insect's surface, causing them to dehydrate and die. Chrysalis of Gulf Fritillary in Georgetown, South Carolina Pupation of Inachis io A pupa (plural: pupae or pupas) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. ...
A sample of diatomaceous earth Diatomaceous earth, also known as DE, diatomite, diahydro, kieselguhr, kieselgur, and Celite, is a naturally occurring, soft, chalk-like sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. ...
Several pesticides are currently used against the small hive beetle. The chemical is commonly applied inside the corrugations of a piece of cardboard. Standard corrugations are large enough that a small hive beetle will enter the cardboard through the end but small enough that honeybees can not enter (and thus are kept away from the pesticide).
Wax moths  Wax moth ( Aphomia sociella) Main article: Waxworm Waxworms are the common name of the larvae of the wax moth (the name is used of two related species, the lesser wax moth (Achroia grisella) and the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella)). They are used extensively as food in the pet industry — mostly due their high fat content, easy...
Galleria mellonella (greater wax moths) will not attack the bees directly, but feed on the wax used by the bees to build their honeycomb. Their full development to adults requires access to used brood comb or brood cell cleanings — these contain protein essential for the larvae's development, in the form of brood coocoons. Wax has traditionally referred to a substance that is secreted by bees (beeswax) and used by them in constructing their honeycombs. ...
Honeycomb on a Langstroth frame A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal wax cells built by honeybees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. ...
A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ...
The destruction of the comb will spill or contaminate stored honey and may kill bee larvae.
When honey supers are stored for the winter in a mild climate, or in heated storage, the wax moth larvae can destroy portions of the comb, even though they will not fully develop. Damaged comb may be scraped out and will be replaced by the bees. Wax moth larvae and eggs are killed by freezing, so storage in unheated sheds or barns in higher latitudes is the only control necessary.
Because wax moths can not survive a cold winter, they are usually not a problem for beekeepers in the northern U.S. or Canada, unless they survive winter in heated storage, or are brought from the south by purchase or migration of beekeepers. They thrive and spread most rapidly with temperatures above 90°F, so some areas with only occasional days that hot, rarely have a problem with wax moths.
Control and Treatment A strong hive generally needs no treatment to control wax moths; the bees themselves will kill and clean out the moth larvae and webs. Wax moth larvae may fully develop in cell cleanings when such cleanings accumulate thickly where they are not accessible to the bees.
Wax moth development in comb is generally not a problem with top bar hives as unused combs are usually left in the hive during the winter. Since this type of hive is not used in severe wintering conditions, the bees will be able to patrol and inspect the unused comb. Top-bar hives are a style of beehive used for beekeeping. ...
Wax moths can be controlled chemically with naphthalene (mothballs) or paradichlorobenzene (urinal disks). If chemical methods are used the combs must be well aired out for several weeks before use. The use of naphthalene is discouraged because it accumulates in the wax. Control by physical means uses freezing of the comb. Naphthalene (not to be confused with naphtha) (also known as naphthalin, naphthaline, tar camphor, white tar, albocarbon, or naphthene), is a crystalline, aromatic, white, solid hydrocarbon, best known as the primary ingredient of mothballs. ...
Most modern mothballs contain para-dichlorobenzene, also called p-dichlorobenzene or 1,4-Dichlorobenzene, a chemical used to control moths, molds, and mildew, and to deodorize restrooms and waste containers. ...
Chilled brood Chilled brood is not actually a disease but can be a result of mistreatment of the bees by the beekeeper. It also can be caused by a pesticide hit that primarily kills off the adult population, or by a sudden drop in temperature during rapid spring buildup. The brood must be kept warm at all times; nurse bees will cluster over the brood to keep it at the right temperature. When a beekeeper opens the hive (to inspect, remove honey, check the queen, or just to look) and prevents the nurse bees from clustering on the frame for too long, the brood can become chilled, deforming or even killing some of the bees. This article focuses on the education and regulation of nurses. ...
Fig. ...
To minimize the risk of chilled brood, open the hive on warm days and at the hottest part of the day (this is also the time when the most field bees will be out foraging and the number of bees in the hive will be at its lowest). Learn to inspect your hive as quickly as possible and put frames with brood back where the bees can cluster on it immediately.
Stonebrood Stonebrood is a fungal disease caused by Aspergillus fumigatus. It causes mummification of the brood. Worker bees generally clean out the infected brood and the hive recovers. Aspergillus fumigatus is a fungus of the genus Aspergillus, and it is one of the most common Aspergillus species to cause disease in humans with a weakened immune response. ...
Kashmir Bee Virus Recently discovered, this virus is currently only positively identifiable by a laboratory test. Little is known about it yet.
Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV) As its name implies, BQCV causes the queen larva to turn black and die. It is thought to be associated with Nosema. Nosema apis is a microsporidian, a small, unicellular parasite that mainly affects honey bees. ...
Pesticide losses Honey bees are susceptible to many of the chemicals used for agricultural spraying of other insects and pests. Many pesticides are known to be toxic to bees. Because the bees forage up to several miles from the hive, they may fly into areas actively being sprayed by farmers or they may collect pollen from 'contaminated' flowers. Pesticides vary in their effect on bees. ...
Carbamate pesticides, such as Sevin(R)-Carbaryl (C12H11NO2)can be especially pernicious since toxicity can take as long as two days to become effective; allowing infected pollen to be returned and distributed throughout the colony. Organophosphates and other insecticides are also known to kill honeybee clusters in treated areas. Pesticides vary in their effect on bees. ...
Pesticide losses may be relatively easy to identify (large and sudden numbers of dead bees in front of the hive) or quite difficult, especially if the loss results from a gradual accumulation of pesticide brought in by the foraging bees. Quick acting pesticides may deprive the hive of its foragers, dropping them in the field before they can return home.
Insecticides that are toxic to bees have label directions that protect the bees from poisoning as they forage. To comply with the label, applicators must know where and when bees forage in the application area, and the length of residual activity of the pesticide.
Some pesticide authorities recommend, and some jurisdictions require, that notice of spraying be sent to all known beekeepers in the area so that they can seal the entrances to their hives and keep the bees inside until the pesticide has had a chance to disperse. This, however, does not solve all problems associated with spraying and the label instructions should be followed regardless of doing this. Sealing honey bees from flight on hot days can kill bees. Beekeeper notification does not offer any protection to bees, if the beekeeper cannot access them, or to wild native or feral honey bees. Thus beekeeper notification as the sole protection procedure does not really protect all the pollinators of the area, and is, in effect, a circumventing of the label requirements. Pesticide losses are a major factor in pollinator decline. Pollinator decline is based on observations made at the end of the twentieth century of the reduction in abundance of pollinators in many ecosystems worldwide. ...
See also The honeybee is a colonial insect that is often maintained, fed, and transported by farmers. ...
For the Queen bee in clique & social groups, see Clique. ...
A worker bee is a female honeybee which performs certain tasks in support of a bee hive. ...
A laying worker bee is a worker bee that lays unfertilized eggs usually in the absence of a queen bee. ...
Drones are male honeybees. ...
It has been suggested that Langstroth hive be merged into this article or section. ...
The honeybee life cycle depends greatly on the honeybees social structure. ...
Recently hatched honey bee larvae are feeding on royal jelly for three days. ...
Honey bees learn and communicate in order to find food sources and for other means. ...
A swarm about to land Swarming is the natural means of reproduction of honey bee colonies (considering the colony as the organism rather than individual bees which cannot survive alone), including the domesticated Western honey bee. ...
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Africanized honey bees (AHB), also known as “killer†bees, are hybrids of the African honeybee, Apis mellifera adansonii (or by other reports ), with various European honeybees such as the Italian bee Apis mellifera ligustica. ...
This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...
Trinomial name Apis mellifera carnica Pollman, 1879 The Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a subspecies of Western honey bee. ...
Apis mellifera ligustica is the Italian bee which is a sub-species of the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera). ...
Binomial name Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 The Western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a species of honey bee comprised of several subspecies or races. ...
Beekeeping (or apiculture, from Latin apis, a bee) is the practice of intentional maintenance of honeybee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. ...
Beeswax cake Fresh wax scales (in the middle of the lower row) Beeswax is a product from a bee hive. ...
A jar of honey, shown with a wooden honey server and scones. ...
An Apiary in South Carolina, Langstroth hives on pallets An apiary (also known in the US as a bee yard) is a place where beehives of honeybees are kept. ...
It has been suggested that Langstroth hive be merged into this article or section. ...
Langstroth hives on pallets The Langstroth bee hive is the standard beehive used in many parts of the world for bee keeping. ...
Top-bar hives are a style of beehive used for beekeeping. ...
References and external links - Canadian Honey Council Essential Oils for Varroa, Tracheal, AFB Control
- Sammataro, Diana; et al. The Beekeeper's Handbook
- Morse, Roger (editor) The ABC and XYZ of Beekeeping
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