The aim of this book is to provide bee-keepers with a guide to the common pests and diseases of bees.
Healthy Bees covers seasonal factors that affect the health of the colony, nutrition, non-infectious disorders, diseases, exotic pests, and strategies to prevent them.
Clear photographs to help you recognise and identify pests and diseases, and videos demonstrate collecting samples from your hive.
Contents
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: The honey bee
Introduction
Lifecycle of the honey bee
Castes of bees and their roles in the colony
Genetics
Inbreeding
Sex hormones in the hive
CHAPTER 2: Colony size
Introduction
Colony size varies with seasons
Nectar flow and brood rearing
Managing bees in winter
Managing bees in spring
CHAPTER 3: Nutrition
Food for bees
Feeding sugar to honey bees
Plants as poisons
CHAPTER 4: Effects of seasons and location
Seasons
Location
CHAPTER 5: Disease and disorder
Health of bees is important
Non-infectious disorders
Causes of disease
CHAPTER 6: Strategies to prevent disease
Be alert
Inspect the hive
Comb replacement program
Barrier system
Best practice
CHAPTER 7: Diseases of the honey bee brood
American foulbrood
European foulbrood
Chalkbrood
Sacbrood
Kashmir bee virus
Black queen cell virus
Prepare a larval smear for diagnosis
CHAPTER 8: Diseases of adult honey bees
Nosema disease
Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV)
CHAPTER 9: Hive pests
Small hive beetle (SHB)
Wax moth
Other pests
CHAPTER 10: Exotic pests
Varroa mite
Sugar shaking to detect external parasites
Tracheal mite
Tropilaelaps mite
Predatory hornets
Large hive beetles
CHAPTER 11: Surveillance and response to exotic pests and disease
Surveillance
Response to surveillance alert
CHAPTER 12: Honey bees and the law
Introduction
Beekeeper registration
Abandoned or neglected hives
The legal requirement to notify
Biosecurity Code of Practice
Bonus Chapter: Testing for Hygienic Behaviour
Liquid Nitrogen-Killed Brood Test
Appendix 1: Glossary
Appendix 2: The pollen story
Not all pollen is equal
No pollen and the colony dies
Pollen substitutes
Sugar syrup, brood rearing, pollen foraging
References
Appendix 3: Competencies supported by this publication