Several of our members have reported concern about suspected EFB in some of their colonies in the last few weeks, and these concerns were brought to the attention of our Seasonal Bee Inspector,
Stewart Westsmith, who sent samples for lab testing to the National Bee Unit in York. Thankfully the results for these so far have all been negative. On p. 9 our chairman has suggested a possible cause for the suspicious-looking larvae. Carefully note Andrew’s suggestion regarding these larvae which had been suspected of having EFB. Also, do be sure to read the note, also on p. 9, from our member Katie Shapley in which she points out the value of sharing in our WhatsApp (Communities) group information of suspicious larvae (or indeed any other odd things that we see in our hives), especially when a notifiable disease like EFB is suspected. As this condition has been noted by several of our members, it would be interesting to all of us and to Stewart to know how widespread this condition is, so please let me know if you have experienced it and I will report the total number in next month’s Newsletter.
Our feelings that the summer honey flow has ended, as mentioned in last months’ newsletter, have been confirmed, wasps are around the hives and some members have already seen drones being evicted so we need to ensure that our colonies have all had their entrances reduced. Extra care must be taken not to drop bits of comb containing honey in our apiaries too (which we should never do at any time anyway) to prevent the onset of a serious bout of robbing. A reminder: when taking off the honey crop, do leave enough stores for the bees – at least some hives still have large numbers of bees in them and in most areas, there is now very little nectar around for them to collect and use.
Is it EFB?
This summer, several Weybridge members have seen bee larvae with an unhealthy appearance, and EFB was suspected. This includes a hive in the division’s teaching apiary. Thankfully, these incidents turned out to be false alarms. The hive at the teaching apiary had been queenless for some time and there were probably not enough young worker bees to provide sufficient food for the larvae, causing some to die of starvation.
Beekeepers should always be on the lookout for larvae with an abnormal appearance. Healthy larvae are white with segmented bodies and they lie flat at the bottom of the cells. Larvae that are discoloured and are slumped in the cells require further investigation. If possible, take some close-up photographs of the suspect larvae. These can be sent to the Seasonal Bee Inspector. The Inspector can then assess whether a site visit is required. If it is European Foulbrood, the Inspector will place a standstill order on the apiary. This means nothing can be taken out of the apiary until the notice has been lifted. The Inspector will deal with the infected hive(s) and assess the value of destroyed hive parts for your Bee Diseases Insurance claim. Make sure you are covered for all the colonies you have during the summer, including nuc colonies and colony splits. If you have four colonies but are only covered for three, the insurance payout will be reduced.
Our Seasonal Bee Inspector is Stewart Westsmith. He can be contacted by phone on 07769 933172 and by email stewart.westsmith@apha.gov.uk His contact details are also given in the Contacts list at the end of each Weybridge Beekeepers monthly newsletter.
Andrew Halstead
Thank you, Andrew, for your suggested reason for the presence of the unhealthy appearance of the larvae. This information, I suspect, is not common knowledge among beekeepers.
It’s another reminder to be on the look-out for suspicious things in our colonies – and to ensure that we are insured with Bee Diseases Insurance (BDI); this comes as part of our annual subscription.