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Subject:
From:
Etienne Tardif <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 26 Mar 2024 13:36:01 -0700
Content-Type:
multipart/mixed
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (2939 bytes) , bee gut masses.jpg (1 MB) , gut slides.jpeg (1 MB) , amoeba cyst.jpeg (1 MB)
On the solar (light) impact, All my entrances are shaded by a piece of
plywood until March when cleansing flights are more likely and solar
radiation offers enough energy for it to be beneficial. So the outside
warming was a true rapid air temperature warm up with no help from surface
solar heating.

I have found no link between Nosema and dysentery (outside the hive) in
general. My 2017 event where inside hive was covered in feces was
exacerbated by extreme honeydew honey and extreme cold with no cleansing
from late September until mid April. Nosema sick bees (an likely Amoeba)
likely pooped inside the hive relatively early in winter, thus transmitting
Nosema transfer between bees. In this case, every bee tested had Nosema
(They likely also had Amoeba). The following 4 years had one colony
collapsing from severe Nosema and Amoeba (tested and confirmed). Last year,
I tested drops of feces and the bottom of cells on random drawn brood
frames. Most feces had Nosema and Amoeba while the cells had mostly Nosema
with the odd Amoeba.

This is confirmed by some observations done by Bailey: “This annual
epidemic appears to have the same explanation as that of Nosema apis;
transference of infected colonies to non-contaminated combs in early summer
eliminated infection, and transference of combs from infected to uninfected
colonies in autumn introduced infection which became epidemic the following
spring (Bailey, 1957d). Cysts of M. mellificae on combs were killed as
readily as spores of N. apis by vapour of acetic acid, but fumagilin did
not affect the development of M.mellificae in infected bees (Bailey,
1955d)."

On those diamond crystals (oxalates), my guess is that it is uric acid,
long cleanseless winters likely cause damage/stress to the bees
osmoregulatory system, of which Malpighian Tubules play a key role. I need
to get more microscopic pictures of healthy looking tubules during the
summer season.

I only have one data point (this spring) on the effectiveness of acetic
acid fumigation, but the literature and and my small observations agree. I
needed to do something that would kill Amoeba. I did end up throwing out 40
drawn brood frames.

Last week's testing did bring up some really interesting observations. I am
still trying to get expert opinions on what I've observed. (See images)
They are masses growing on the side of the bees (ileum). If you look at the
middle focus image in the middle bottom, there are round looking cysts with
similar shape, texture and size than amoebas. This bee had infected tubules
with amoeba (but no Nosema). It maybe something completely different. I
have never seen how the amoeba gets ejected into the feces/inside the bee.
How it transmits the disease to other bees via the feces?

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