Peter said:

> What makes "scale" adhere to the comb material in such a tight manner?
> Physical or chemical adhesion?

Dunno, so I'll ask an expert today at the joint MD/VA state
beekeeper meeting in Manassas VA (very near Washington DC).
(See http://www.virginiabeekeepers.org for map and schedule)

Offhand, I'd guess that the remains of the dead larvae (which
are "rubbery" when one uses the traditional toothpick test)
are a "glue" of sorts.

> If a way was found to ease its removal without comb destruction,
> would not some of the techniques used in controlling AFB have
> greater effectiveness?

Let's think about this.

a)  AFB is a microscopic thing. The spores range
    from 1.5 to 2.5 micrometers in diameter.

b)  A single diseased larvae is estimated to
    contain 2,500,000,000 spores.

So, if you make is easier for the bees to remove a scale,
haven't you just created an "AFB hand grenade" that
will spread spores all over the hive as the scale
is handled and removed by the bees?  :)

The morphology for AFB is very very very similar to
that for Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis).  Both are
tough customers, hard to really kill with anything
less than cobalt radiation or Electron beam radiation,
hard to see, hard to find, hard to "clean up".

I wonder how long it will be before Maxant, Cowen, and
Swienty offer "E-beam systems for the sideline beekeeper".
Right now, this would be a very bulky and expensive add-on
to a chain uncapper.


        jim

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