Bees ascospherosis is a serious problem for the beekeeper. The people call this disease calcareous brood, because adult insects carry pathogens, but they themselves do not get sick, and only larvae become infected and die.
Mold fungus
The cause of ascospherosis is the ingress of mold Ascospaera apis into the hive. His disputes have considerable vitality. They persist for a long time in the external environment and, falling into the hive, can be inactive for years. Mold fungus belongs to the category of marsupials. It has male and female mycelium, upon contact of which fruiting bodies are formed. Special cysts contain spore bags with a huge amount of material.
Causes of the disease
Bees ascospherosis develops in a moist, cool environment. Adult insects enter the spore of the fungus into the hive, collecting nectar or sitting on common feeders and drinkers. If an infection infects at least one cell with a larva, it will die. Bees will begin to clean their dead brood cells and spread spores throughout the hive.
Sometimes theft is caused by theft. If the hives are close, the bees can fly into someone else's territory and become infected with fungal infections.
Another provocateur of ascospherosis are mites of varroa. When they appear, bee colonies noticeably weaken.
Sometimes inadequate care of an apiary provokes various diseases of bees. Ascospherosis, for example, can develop with poor insulation of the hive in winter. Contaminated equipment may also be the cause of an outbreak of fungal disease. An important role is played by feed quality control and careful processing of the frames and internal surfaces of the hives, where bee colonies relocate.
Symptoms of infection
Infection of larvae occurs on 3-4 days of their life. Ascospherosis of bees can occur in a latent and acute form. In the first case, the spores are inactive, although they are located on almost all surfaces of the hive, including the bodies of larvae. The disease does not spread and does not bring harm.
If the disease under the influence of external factors becomes acute, then the productivity of the hive is reduced by half. In this case, more than a third of the brood perishes.
Fungal infection is determined visually by the presence in the hive of affected larvae and cells. Basically, they are located at the edges of the frames, closer to the bottom. Bees open cells with dead larvae, gnawing lids, and carefully clean the place.
However, despite external factors, the final diagnosis is made in the veterinary laboratory.
How does the disease go?
Ascospherosis of bees proceeds as follows: at the age of 3-4 days, larvae, in contact with vector bees, become infected with Ascospaera apis spores. The drone brood is the first to be affected . Spores germinate, forming a mycelium, which destroys the middle intestine. Gradually, all organs become affected by the mycelium, and it grows outward, forming a white felt coating around the head end of the larva.
At first, the larva becomes whiter than healthy individuals. Then the ascospherosis of the bees makes the brood light yellow. The body of the larvae becomes doughy. At the next stage, the mycelium fills the entire space between the larva and the walls of the cell. Further, the larvae harden like mummies, and greatly decrease in size. Dead larvae are similar to calcareous pebbles. They fall to the bottom of the hive or knock on a sealed honeycomb. Similar sounds when shaking honeycombs are observed if ascospherosis and aspergillosis of bees develop in the hive. These are two infectious and fungal diseases in which "petrification" of the larvae occurs.
How to save a bee family. Driving
The elimination of ascospherosis includes a whole range of measures aimed at treating and stopping the spread of fungal spores to other families. If the disease has developed severely, then the uterus and brood are destroyed, and the framework goes to replicate. A healthy uterus or uterus is planted in the family. In this case, the barren period is a wellness measure for the family.
But if the damage is insignificant, then the bees are distilled to another hive. It is filled with honeycombs from healthy hives and put new sushi.
If the brood frames were slightly affected, they are also transferred to a new hive, but they are isolated with a special lattice from the uterus. When the brood comes out of the frame, it is taken out and disinfected.
Disinfection
If the beekeeper discovered ascospherosis of bees, the treatment will not do without disinfection of the entire farm. It is necessary to process not only beehives and frames, but also all equipment and all textile products that are used in the apiary.
The hives are burned with a blowtorch or soaked in a liquor solution for 6 hours. The honey separator is washed with laundry soap or soaked in liquor for the same period. All textiles are boiled.
If there are more than 50 diseased cells in the frame, then they are overheated. To use further wax, it is kept in an autoclave for 2 hours.
Since it is possible to cure bee ascospherosis with a mild defeat of the family, after disinfection, herbal or medical agents are actively used to combat the problem. But you must always remember that uncontrolled intake of antibiotics is more likely to do harm than help. Therefore, any medications are used as directed by the veterinarian and under constant monitoring.
Medicinal methods
There may be several treatment options. It is the veterinarian who determines how to treat bee ascospherosis in each case. The pharmaceutical industry provides the following drugs to combat fungal infections: Nystatin, Apiask, Ascocin, and others.
There are several ways to handle brood:
- The medicine is added to the syrup bowl and given to the bees.
- The drug is mixed with powdered sugar and pollinated with a frame mixture with brood.
- The medicine is added to cakes (candies), which are laid out in beehives on the frame.
Processing is carried out in accordance with the instructions. So, for example, in the treatment with "Nystatin" use 2 tablets per 100 g of powdered sugar. Spend 2-3 treatments every 3 days.
Herbal remedies
It is most effective to use herbal remedies as an addition to the treatment prescribed by the veterinarian.
Ascospherosis is afraid of contact with horsetail, yarrow, celandine and garlic. Beehives use either crushed dry plant material, or tufts of grass wrapped in gauze, which are left under the frames until completely dry.
When using garlic, you can place the green arrows or the mass passed through the meat grinder. The product is wrapped in perforated polyethylene or gauze and placed over the frames. After 2 days, the bag is replaced with a new one. During the main honey collection, this method is not used.
Prevention
The main prevention of fungal infections is the proper care of the hives and their timely warming. For an apiary, you should choose a dry, sunny place.
For the prevention of ascospherosis, hives are regularly sanitized and work equipment is disinfected. Pesticide is buried or burned.
In order not to spread a fungal infection, healthy bees are not fed honey and bee bread from sick hives.
A good preventive measure is the laying of bactericidal plant materials. The main thing is not to forget to update it regularly.
Experienced beekeepers, observing precautions, are able to protect the apiary and reduce the risk of ascospherosis in their household.