From: "deelusbybeekeeper" <deelusbybeekeeper@excelonline.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 09:23:42 -0700
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: How do you tell diseases apart

Robert wrote:
> I can't remember where I found it, but I read something the other day
> about chalkbrood inhibiting EFB. This wouldn't surprise me, as fungi do
> commonly inhibit bacteria. Apparently, as the incidence of chalkbrood
> increased in the States, EFB decreased. Can anyone confirm this? Why did
> chalkbrood become so common over there?

Reply:
Chalk brood became so common because a major supplier was selling premade
pattie formulation to place into all colonies every year as a precaution
treatment so no one would get the foul broods and everyone started believing
they had to there either make or buy it for pre-treatment.

But who takes drugs for pre-treatment knowing that every thing taken or
given has a side effect they might not want? Well anyway, it became fashion
to pre-treat and as with all treatments, resistance built. Hence, they in
pre-treating whether or not they had a problem, now have lost the
effectiveness of having a treatment, because then by lazyness, they opted
for the quick fix, rather then the leg work to pull the disease the old way
and save the dope for the hard core cases (which technically they could
still shake down a second time or even burn).

As for fungi inhibiting bacteria with the chalk, this I believe, as in a
colony on a natural system without the various doping treatments, many
harmonious natural controls are in balance. Ants do the same thing within
their underground sub-terranean gardens for the food they manufacture and
grow to keep disease and infections out. Cause imbalance even in a ant
colony and they lose the sterile environment and they too have problems.

Too Bad scientists haven't learned how to study the harmonious relationship
in a bee colony between the various parasites, scavengers, bacteria, fungi,
and viruses to see this prior to creating various treatments, that then go
out of wack creating other problems, necessatiting more treatments. But then
more treatments is more money and eleminatating cause and effect and
returning balance to a colony, ends the money trail and we cannot have that.
Beekeepers must spend money and not have happy bees again, though I sure
wish all could have them happily smiling. There is just no money in happy
healthy bees except to beekeepers and the direct industry they support as
suppliers for woodenware, etc. The chemical/treatment side would be gone,
and the drain.

Very Best Regards,

Dee