Is This EFB?

[WillT]

Some of my larvae appear to be turning to, well you can see

[ctgolfer]

Looks like EFB, follow this thread http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...337#post807337

[WillT]

lol What luck I have been keeping bees for 2 months and I have it in both of my yards. Called the bee inspector last week about this and was told to wait a week and if it was still happening to give him a call...

[ctgolfer]

Waiting could be the death of the hives, you need to consider treating right away or give them up. These guys on here will give you better info. How many frames are infected? Are they near pine trees?

[WillT]

How sure are you that is EFB?

[ctgolfer]

I would research it allot more before doing anything drastic, try this link https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/bee....cfm?pageid=89
Waiting to treat would not be a option for me, I would want to start treating ASAP. Mann Lake sells Terrimycin patties, I would get them heading to your door as soon as I am sure.
This is not something you want to mess around with. Cant be chilled brood in your area this time of year, it is not chalk brood but those black caps look different then anything I have seen, may just more advanced then I have seen. How many frames are infected?

[WillT]

About 100 yards from large pines. Back up to forest.

Not sure I closed up the hive when I found this to prevent and possible spread as I had just gone through the other hive sitting right beside it.

[ctgolfer]

Change the title of this thread to get more real beeks to look at the photos and tell you what it is. Don't listen to us newbies and the wanna bees in here. Guys that have lived through this stuff for real can give you the best info and course of action, better then waiting for your bee inspector to take a look. Good luck, hope you can save them!

[deknow]

...looks like EFB (snotbrood). Personally, if i were going to try and treat this hive, I would start with feeding them...getting some extra feed moving through the system (hive) might well clear things up. Personally, I would not use antibiotics...but even if I had that on the table, I would start with feeding and see what happens.

deknow

[WillT]

@ctgolfer I tried to change the title with no luck so I just made a new thread

@Deknow I have pollen patties or can put sugar water internal feeder, which should I feed? This appears to be in a few of the hives I started.

How long does it take for this to develop? Safe to assume my other hive may have it as well since I caught them robbing? Neighbors hives about .5 miles away?

[deknow]

...1:1 sugar syrup (or honey if you have honey suitable for feeding). Generally EFB is a stress disease. How have you been managing your colonies? If you've been spreading the brood too thin (placing empty frames between frames of brood), that could be a contributing factor.
With that said, some beekeepers have been reporting more stubborn EFB in the last few years.

deknow

[WillT]

...1:1 sugar syrup (or honey if you have honey suitable for feeding). Generally EFB is a stress disease. How have you been managing your colonies? If you've been spreading the brood too thin (placing empty frames between frames of brood), that could be a contributing factor.
With that said, some beekeepers have been reporting more stubborn EFB in the last few years.

deknow

These hives came to me as nucs this spring so I have not moved anything(brood or honey) in the hives.

[deknow]

If you know where the nucs come from (ultimately, not a local broker), you could try to find out what the treatment regimen is in that operation. If antibiotics are routinely used, you may be stuck needing to use them in order to keep these bees alive. Did anyone else in your area get nucs from the same source? Are they having similar problems?

deknow

[WillT]

I know they had several hundred nucs if not a 1000 come in from the same source. I do know the source and will shoot them an email to see if they received any antibiotics. My understanding is these were survivor stock, I took that to mean they were treatment free. That said I found no mites and 1 hive beetle in 7 nucs that were produced in GA.

I really have no desire to treat constantly, would it be worth trying a single round of treatments to see if that works?

[deknow]

First, I would ask around and see if anyone is having the same problem with bees from the same source. Normally I'd also suggest requeening (it provides a break in the brood cycle, and it could be better stock)...but if you've purchased "survivor stock", then you are wanting the qualities of that queen (hopefully acute susceptibility to EHB isn't one of them).
Personally, I would not medicate (which would be OTC), but I might try shaking them down onto new equipment and feed like mad. You will loose the brood and comb, but you might save the bees. Antibiotics don't just affect the "bad" bacteria, but also much of the "good".

deknow

[WillT]

I have two bee yards were I keep bees. My home and my brothers vacation house which is a 45 minute drive. My brother bought from the same source two weeks later than me and had this develop about 1 week ago in one of his hives. That is when I first contacted the inspector.

I sanitized my suite and left my hive tool there to prevent any spread. The only thing they have in common is the source, my smoker and me.

Will the hives that started to rob the infected hive likely become infected?

[Lburou]

Check this U of Georgia video and you should have a good idea how to proceed, EFB is @ 5:30:

[deknow]

the problem is likely largely in the comb. robbing bees might become infected, but I don't think you would ever even see a symptom in an otherwise strong hive doing some robbing....but the faster you remove the diseased comb/brood, the less exposure other bees will have.

given your situation, I would shake down onto new foundation (or foundationless)...just keep the hive in the exact same spot. Feed if you have to. You could also try caging the queen for a couple of weeks (and perhaps remove all open brood), but I would do the shakedown...

deknow

deknow

[Barry]

Of course a shakedown is also stressful. My first case of EFB was in a shakedown.

[deknow]

Yes it is stressful (as is almost anything that falls under "beekeeping"). It is what I would do if I didn't think it would clear up on its own (hard to have an opinion on that based on a few photos). Of course, antibiotic treatment is also stressful. I'd destroy the hive before I treated with OTC...but that's me. I know some commercial beekeepers who have not used antibiotics in many years who have had EFB infections in the last few years that they felt required treatment...these are folks that thought they were done with antibiotics for good.

deknow