>
> Is the nosema organism killed in burning the inside of the hive?

Yes.


> > If there is no sign of nosema ceranae that kills a colony and the
> equipment is
> reused, is the new colony doomed?

If there was no sign (spore counts), then why would you suspect N ceranae?


> > What is the conservative approach to reusing equipment?

Depends upon how conservative you want to be.  Dr Cramer has demonstrated
that N ceranae spores are easy to kill by heating the combs for a few hours,
or by bleach spray.  They also can be killed by acetic acid fumigation, as
Bob does.  It appears that they degrade with storage, even in the cold.

I have been recycling boxes of brood comb in my N ceranae test yard.  I gave
most of the colonies a single fumagillin treatment last fall.  I split the
colonies last week, as they were all ready to swarm.

However, even the untreated controls have built up well, but have higher
spore counts than I'd like to see (about 10M), so I will see how they do.

In my area (and in many other areas), N ceranae does not appear to be the
kiss of death.  However, in other areas it may be, especially in conjunction
with other stressors.

In answer to your question, it probably isn't worth the cost of treatment
unless you are sure that you actually have a nosema problem.

Randy Oliver

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