Bees/o; Development Journal 92
HONEY BEE PARASITE
Discussion If the parasitic flies can infest three Apis species this may indicate a great danger for Apis mellifera. In some parts of Borneo beekeeping is practised with Apis mellifera, and if colonies are transported to other
areas, it increases the possibility of transferring the parasite to other countries with a similar climate. We think it is important that
beekeepers all over the world are made aware of this new record of a bee parasite. Further we recognised the parasitic fly only by collecting dead or crawling bees in the bee yard, but not by dissecting bees within the colony. The infection occurs when the fly deposits eggs on flying bees probably foragers. Thus it may be difficult to recognise an infested bee within the hive. All beekeepers should carefully watch not
A
only their colonies, but aiso their apiaries and bee yards for crawling or dead bees.
More information on bee parasites on the BFD Website Information Portal topic Honey bee health and welfare
LETTERS
Figure 4. Adult conopid fly
*
collected on a newspaper in the bottom of the hive. Now the bees are
CONTROLLING AMERICAN FOULBROOD WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS AND WITHOUT KILLING THE COLONY
free of most spores, and the colony can if necessary be fed artificially.
Because the vulnerability to AFB is partly genetic,
A response to the informative article by Cliff van Eaton in BfDU 97 Ole Hertz, Apicultural Consultant, Skovshaj, Gudhjemvej 50,
3760 Gudhjem, Denmark Keywords: AFB, antibiotic, Denmark.
American foulbrood (AFB) used to be a serious problem in Denmark. For more than 30 years, this treatment without use of antibiotics and without
killing the colony has been used with great success by beekeepers and government authorities responsible for fighting the disease. It is a pity to destroy a strong colony and it is not necessary. Only very weak colonies unable to survive the treatment have to be destroyed.
The Danish method for treatment of a strong colony with AFB is: *
Brood combs and honey combs are burned. Brood can first be killed with petrol. After four days, the bees are brushed from the combs intc cleaned hive with new wax foundation. Again, any drops of honey are
it
is recommended
to change the queen. *
Combs with honey from the box are metted and the frames cleaned by heat and fire and are disinfected. In Denmark, the biological Cleansing agent Vircon S is recommended.
AFBis detectedin an apiary, all other apiaries less than 3 km away must be inspected by a beekeeper trained in disease detection. If new AFB colonies are found, they must be treated, and all other colonies within 3 km must be investigated. After
The Government pays for this work and a beekeeper receives a small compensation for the loss. Analyses for AFB spores in honey imported into Denmark show that 90% of all samples are contaminated, while only
30% of Danish honey carry spores.
All mature bees are brushed into a clean box or hive with top-bars or frames equipped only with strips of wax as starters. A sheet of
References
newspaper or plastic is placed under the box to collect drops of honey with AFB spores. The bees build new combs and use all the honey they
MINISTRY FOR FARMING (2009) énstructions for trained beekeepers. Copenhagen, Denmark.
have in their honey stomachs. This must be done where the chance of
VEJSNAS,
robbery from other colonies is minimal.
FAOROME1% FOR DEVELOPMENT
FUND The FAO Rome 1% For Development Fund assigns one percent of its members’ salaries to finance small scale development projects and would be happy to receive requests for funding from community-based beekeeping projects in developing countries. The 1% Fund provides
F.; SAGAARD JORGENSEN, A. (2006) Bisygdomme, (Bee diseases). Tidskrift for Biavi 3.
small grants to enable projecis to get off the ground, but leaves the project implementation to the communities themselves. The applicants must clearly define their objectives and how they are to be attained. They are also expected to assemble all resources available within the group such as manual labour, tools or raw materials.
Updates on project progress along with photographs are encouraged so that 1% Fund members can be informed of progress via the 1% Fund web site: www.one-percent-fund.net/. This is in addition to formal reports on progress after 12 months.
For further details please send an email to: One-PerCent-Fund@FAO0.org
