I have really appreciated the discussion of EFB on this forum, as my hives now have a terrible case. This is not something that will go away on its own or with a good flow. 

I went back through my records and located the time four weeks ago when I switched some frames to boost the two colonies that seemed to be struggling. 

A hive that I have had for four years, recently split, with a new queen and 7 deep frames of brood and a medium with pollen and nectar, has completely collapsed. I saw a spotty brood frame, but I didn’t see any larvae that looked sick - Just cells that were cleaned out and polished down to the plastic foundation. I think this is a case of hygienic bees eliminating the sick brood very fast. The positive EFB test followed by a vet examination confirmed the diagnosis. 

So my questions now are:

1. Can the queen alone carry the disease to a healthy colony? I want to save my genetic line, but don’t want to infect another hive. 

2. Did the old accounts of EFB mentioned good queens being frequently superseded? 

3. Did traditional EFB also involve rapid depletion of the worker force, like 20% of the bees each week? 

Thanks in advance,
Ruth


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