Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 309, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 December 1915 — DISEASED COLONIES DIE DURING WINTER [ARTICLE]

DISEASED COLONIES DIE DURING WINTER

Bees Affected With Foul Brood in Fall Should Be Destroyed or Transferred. (By WESLEY FOSTER, Colorado Experiment Station.) Many beekeepers endeavor to carry diseased colonies through the winter because It is so much easier to treat them in the spring than in the fall. In a very large number of cases the diseased colonies die during the winter and the honey is robbed by other colonies, thus spreading the disease throughout quite an extended area. The general Idea Is that, inasmuch as little breeding is do(jpßn the winter, there is small likelihood of the disease spreading in the, hive. This is quite true. However, the following factor is the most important one: The diseased brood is so offensive in odor that but a very small amount is highly disagreeable to the bees. This militates against the natural tendency of the bees to cluster during severe winter weather. A colony lacking compact clustering during winter soon succumbs. Very few colonies affected with foul brood get through the winter for this reason. If a colony is found affected with disease in the fall, either destroy it entirely or transfer the bees to a clean hive and furnish them with sealed combs of honey, after they have been deprived of any food for 48 hours. Sugar sirup cannot be successfully fed in the winter.