AFB - A matter if time?

[hoodswoods]

Just discovered it in one of my 2-wintered survivor hives and got my fingers crossed I haven't contaminated my other hives. With the very best spring season in years, now this.

Having been so focused on pests (varroa and SHB) and have good isolation of my apiaries, I never considered experiencing the 'more exotic' problems. I want to stress that all beekeepers need to become aware and familiar with all that what might ail them and act accordingly. The thread of a few years ago on AFB was most informative.

The hive has done poorly all spring. Hate toasting the bees and all that drawn comb. Lesson learned.

[squarepeg]

i had to burn one earlier this spring. i'm pretty sure it was before any robbing took place. so far no sign of it in the other hives.

[hoodswoods]

curious peg, how did you discover it? how old was the hive, what means of intro, if any, do you think was the cause?

This was a 2-queen hive I split from last year. The split I made (requeened last year after split) is my best hive ever. I have robbed 4 frames of brood/eggs from that hive and reintroduced back into the original early in the spring to try and get it going, but it just languishes - really didn't do too well after the split, come to think of it.

I just noticed some perforated brood comb and very sketchy pattern - when I opened one of the cells I knew. do you have any plans for spread prevention or treatment of your other hives ie terramycin? With already a big crop of honey, I won't even think about it til after I extract before the dearth in the next month or so.

It was the last hive I checked today, so really wasn't looking for it in the other hives, which are all real strong - I quess I'll know after I go back in in a week or so checking on their progress of capping those honey frames.

[squarepeg]

hw, i discovered perforated cells and spotty cappings on the second inspection of the year, (feb 17). this was the very first round of brood as all of the hives were beginning their spring build up. i burned the frames, bottom board, and inner cover. the boxes and top cover were scorched and reused.

the hive was one of the original four that i purchased in june of 2010, which was my introduction to beekeeping. they belonged to an elderly gentleman who had placed several hives on my property in 2009. i obtained them when he passed away. i learned later that he had been treating all his hives with antibiotics twice a year, so i am guessing that the afb spores were present all along. although it is possible that it was brought it in by these bees robbing an infected hive somewhere.

as a preventative measure, i put tylosin in all of my hives after finding the afb in this one. but i don't plan on using antibiotics anymore. any future infections will be dealt with by burning. all of my remaining 17 hives are new from nucs, splits, and caught swarms. all of these are all in all new equipment. there are still two original hives from 2010. they are also in new equipment, and all of the old frames have been rotated out.

i did move some brood frames around last year, and the 8 honey supers of drawn comb that i ended up with and reused this year were not marked as to what hive they came out of. i now have this yard quarantined, and i am marking the boxes and the frames in order to keep them on the same hives.

so far, so good. best of luck to you and your bees.

[Ted Kretschmann]

A match is the best cure. But if the AFB infection is a light infection-less than 75 cells in the colony, three seperated treatments of tylosin mixed in powdered sugar seven days apart will clean up the infection. Then after that you have to maintain a preventive maintainace program dusting with tm and powdered sugar twice in the fall an once in the spring. TED

[HONEYDEW]

A match is the best cure. But if the AFB infection is a light infection-less than 75 cells in the colony, three separated treatments of tylosin mixed in powdered sugar seven days apart will clean up the infection.

Thank you Ted for not just saying burn it period...I cannot for the life of me figure out why beekeepers will treat their hives seven ways to Sunday for everything that infects them, but get foul brood and all you hear is burn it. I simply don't believe that is the answer, why don't we just burn em when they get mites or Nosema?? I would bet more hives are lost due to Nosema and mite infections than have ever been lost due to AFB.. If we always kill em they will never build any resistance to the disease...

[sqkcrk]

The difference is that besides being a disease of the bees, the colony, AFB is an infection of the equipment, the hive. The hive in which a colony lives. The easiest and most effective manner of treating a hive infected w/ AFB is to burn it. It cures the infection and keeps the AFB from spreading by beekeeper error.

Varroa and nosema have killed more colonies of bees in the last 30 years than AFB ever has. But, once the colony dies the equipment is no longer infected. So, there is no need or reason to destroy it by burning it.

I would syggest that if you ever get a case of AFB, you should treat it as you best see fit. Then, let us knowwhat method of treatment you useed and how things worked out for you. I have a case of AFB in a hive right now if you want to come get it to play with.

[Ted Kretschmann]

The problem, honeydew is that most people will not keep that hive and the adjacent bees in the beeyard on preventative maintanence. The spores live for 100 years. Most of you newbee beekeepers do not have the skill level and years of experience with bees to handle such a disease. Yes, a light infection can be cleaned up with Tylosin but after that your operation will have to stay on a prevention program. A lot of you newbees want to claim some sort of special status-"I am treatment free"......Which is a statement you can not have if you are on a permanent preventative maintanence. So burning is the best option then. I operate a midsized commercial operation. We have 3-4 cases of AFB a year out of 2000+ colonies a year. If it is just a few cells, we treat with tylosin and tm mixed in powdered sugar. But more than a few cells-BURN THE HIVE. Over the years I have burned my fair share of bees and equipment when there was a need. By doing so you remove the genetically weak colonies that are subceptable to AFB. Also you do not keep equipment that have the spores that can be accidently spread by man's manipulations from an infected hive to non infected hives. If you keep bees long enough, you will have a colony that for no reason comes down with AFB. Then to burn or not to burn, that is the management question? TED

[HONEYDEW]

Just want to say thanks for those last replies for not attacking me for holding a different view than some may have. I have nothing to go by as far as severe diseases so when I see what I believe is AFB I mark and treat and monitor..Thanks

[sqkcrk]

when I see what I believe is AFB I mark and treat and monitor..Thanks

I hope you verify your diagnosis. Otherwise you could simply be wasting your time, money, medication and also boosting resistance of AFB to Terramycin.

[hoodswoods]

A european company (Vita) makes a afb test kit. I have been in touch with them and they thought that perhaps dadant or brushymountain carried it - neither site shows the product in their line, altho I'm fixing to call them. Is anyone familiar with the product and possibly a source?

Also there is a reference to a testing lab that I run across here on occasion, but a seach didn't pop their name up - something like beltline or something - can I get a reference?

The field test just doesn't convince me either way. The signs (no scales - yet) are on unattended brood in the second box, while there are none in the bottom brood nest and just might be the way normal dead brood in perforated cells pulls out with that particular color - stringy yes, not sure about the 'snap'. No odor in the hive as described.

The thought of prophylactic treatment doesn't sit well with me - it's not a seasonally-modified flu shot.

[scdw43]

Beltsville USDA

http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/psi/brl/directs.htm

Read the note at the bottom of the page about AFB samples. There is no charge for the test.