Bee killer diseases

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Prevention is better than cure.
Learn to recognize healthy brood and bees.
Adopt hygienic practices – do not discard comb & propolis in the apiary or exchange combs.
Try not to squash bees when manipulating a colony.
Avoid robbing and drifting – don’t spill sugar syrup or manipulate late in the season, .
Assume second-hand equipment has contained a diseased colony. Blowlamp wooden parts. Do not use second-hand frames or combs.
Sterilize combs with 80% acetic acid.
Quarantine swarms – check for disease.
Never feed foreign honey or honey of unknown origin.
Consider keeping a separate hive tool and gloves in each apiary.
If in doubt, ask for advice from the Bee Diseases Officer or an experienced beekeeper.
Samples can be examined for acarine and nosema by a microscopist. A charge will be made for samples sent to the National Bee Unit.
Foul Brood must be reported to the National Beekeeping Unit or the Bee Inspector. Diagnosis of Foul Brood and treatment is free.
Don’t always lament losses. If it is your fault, learn from the experience. Survival of the fittest and Adaptation applies to bees.

The most important bee diseases spread

Various diseases of honey bees
Honeybees like all living organisms are susceptible to diseases and pests, from Nosema ceranae to American foulbrood. However, some of these are more toxic to bee colonies than others, but it is important for the beekeeper to be able to recognize which might be disease, or pest related. Responding to the problem quickly and accordingly is paramount to a healthy colony of bees.

Varroa

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Agricultural Research Services (ARS) are making positive strides in creating a strain of honeybee which is proactive in attacking the Varroa mite head on!

ARS are focusing on creating honeybees with a certain genetic trait; Varroa Sensitive Hygiene. The VSH trait in the bee means it is more likely to find and remove mite infested pupae from the capped brood developing sealed inside the comb cells. This can be obviously difficult for the bees to detect as the mite attacks the brood within the capped cells and so rely on the protective layer of wax to escape the bees natural sanitation tendencies.