Another Piece in the Massive Honeybee Losses Puzzle? 
> 
> New Damaging Nosema Species Reported 
> 
> Translated by ... Eric McArthur 
> 
> 
> A report in the "Deutsches Bienen Journal", March issue highlights
another 
> possible culprit for the high level of honey bee deaths being recorded

> throughout Europe. In 1996 a new species of Nosema was discovered on
Apis 
> cerana, the Asian honeybee, it received the name Nosema ceranae. An 
> assumption was made at that time that this species was specific to A. 
> cerana, however in 2005 Chinese scientists isolated the 'new' Nosema 
> species in A. mellifera colonies in Taiwan. In the same year
scientists in 
> the Castilla -La Mancha Institute in Spain and the University of
Madrid 
> found Nosema ceranae in A.mellifera in Europe for the first time. This

> disease vector is only able to be distinguished from Nosema apis, the 
> classic Apis mellifera vector using molecular genetic techniques. The 
> incidence of Nosema in Spain has increased from a level of 10% in 2000
to 
> some 88% in 2004. 
> 
> 8 colonies in Germany have already been diagnosed positive for
N.ceranae 
> all of these colonies died. 
> 
> The Swiss, Italians, Germans and Austrians have been cooperating in a 
> Europe wide research programme since 2002. In winter 2002/2003 the
Nosema 
> infection levels were around 38%. Results from trials in Spain seem to

> indicate that Nosema infestations are on the increase. 
> 
> A worrying factor in the latest reports is that colonies appear to be 
> being killed very quickly and losses are occurring during the course
of 
> the whole year - bees crawling on the ground in front of the hive is a

> classic symptom. 
> 
> During the observations this winter colonies were noted making
relatively 
> heavy cleansing flights at 4 C. This observation seems to indicate a 
> severe need for the bees to defecate. A link to the new Nosema
organism 
> however cannot be made conclusively. There is very little known about
the 
> course of the disease and its symptoms in Asia. 
> 
> Reference: "Asian Nosema Disease Vector Confirmed - Is this a new 
> Infestation or only now discovered?" Dr Wolfgang Ritter, Freiburg 
> University. 'Das Deutsche Bienen Journal', March issue 2006 
> 
Kim Flottum 
Editor, BeeCulture 
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