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World distribution of bee diseases

I receive so many enquiries from beekeepers who wish to import queen bees from another country, that the old English saying that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence'’ seems to apply here too. Put importing queens or bees carries the risk of importing new bee diseases or parasites into a disease-free area and may endanger all the bees there. We know far too little of the world distribution of bee diseases, and it is urgently necessary to improve our knowledge. I am trying to compile preliminary maps for publication in Bee World, showing the countries where the following diseases and parasites are present:

American foul brood - Bacillus larvae

European foul brood - Streptococcus pluton

- and Bacillus alvei

sacbrood - sacbrood virus

nosema - Nosema apis

amoeba - Malpighamoeba mellificae

chalk brood - Ascosphaera apis

acarine - Acarapis woodi

bee louse - Braula coeca

external mites - Varroa jacobsoni

- Tropilaelaps clareae

I can find no information whatever on the disease position in the following mainland countries (except for a 1959 report on acarine disease by E.P. Jeffree). Please send me any reports or offers of help, including confirmation that disease is believed not to be present in a certain country.

Zaire and Tanzania; also Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Swaziland America: Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Surinam.

Asia: Almost all the Arabian peninsula; also Bangladesh, Bhutan, Rune, Burma, Laos, Nepal, Philippines, Sikkim, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam. (Varroa jacobsoni and/or Tropilaelaps clareae are known to be present in some of these countries).

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