Jim, Nosema is microscopic, but it isn't a bacterium.....it's a "microsporidian", and people are still debating whether it is a "proper" fungus or not.   Until recently it was classified as a highly specialized fungus.  If it is still classed as a fungus then it is also still the world's smallest fungus.

That means it's eukaryotic and so it is hard to kill because the bee host is also eukaryotic.  This is a challenge when compared to bacteria, they are all prokaryotes so killing them within a eukaryotic host is an easier problem.

Christina

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