Hive Health

 

The health of the hive
is dependant on a number of things:

• genetic diversity
  
  • boosts the colony's resistance against disease.
  • different lines are better at performing some tasks than others.
  • helps better maintain large colonies.
    
    
• a brood disease
  • Chalk brood is a fungal disease that attacks the uncapped brood. Chalk brood kills all of the larvae.
  • American foul brood affects the capped pupa stage.  If not controlled the entire hive needs to be destroyed and the hive burned.
  • varroa mites lay their eggs in the capped cells of brood.  Adult mites attach themselves to adult bees and drink their blood.
  • tracheal mites live in the windpipe.
    
    
• resource depletion
  • When the resources disappear due to severe weather or herbicide, the foraging population must search farther for its resources - pollen and nectar.
    
    
• swarming
  • 25% to 30% of the house bees and foraging bees plus the old queen leave in a typical swarm.
    
    
• supercedure of the queen
  • The new queen takes 17 days to develop. During her first two weeks as an adult, she must take her nuptial flight in order to become fertilized. During this period, the hive is adding no additional brood.
    
    
• death of foragers by pesticide
  • 25% death of the foraging population is typical from pesticide spray. This number can go much higher if the foragers bring the pesticide back to the hive.

 

Good hive management includes

• dry, warm hive
  • lean hive slightly forward so that rain water runs out the entrance instead of accumulating inside.
  • ventilate, ventilate, ventilate.  Between the nectar dehydrating and the bees evaporating water to cool the hive water moisture builds up in the hive.  Offset
    honey supers, cock the outer cover, drill ventilation holes, use screened bottom board.
  • replace hive parts as necessary.
    
    
• disease management
  • keep bees with hygenic blood lines.
  • medicate as necessary.
  • cleaning tools between hives may help prevent the spread of disease.
  • replace old comb periodically. Old combs harbor spores that trigger disease
    season after season.
  • don't feed honey from unknown sources. It may contain disease spores.

 

The number of diseases, parasites, and pests that affect honey bees is not large, and only a few are serious enough to cause severe colony losses.

Most diseases affect the honey bee in its larval stage, with American and European Foulbrood the most common.  AFB is the most is the most destructive, and may require burning of both the colony and the hive.  Chalkbrood and sacbrood are less serious with less loss.  Nosema, the major adult bee disease, shortens their lives and interfers with their ability to feed their larvae.

The parasites that have the most impact on the bees are the tracheal mite and the varroa mite.  The tracheal mite lives within the breathing tubes of the honey bee; and the varroa mite, which feeds on the blood of larvae, papae, and adult bees.

for more information on bee diseases:
http://www.utahcountybeekeepers.org/Diseases%20Pests%20and%20Parasites.html