>finding only two colonies I pulled foul from this year so far.

As Allen says AFB spores are around. Have been & always will be. When AFB
was in the crisis stage around WW2 AFB was common in most beekeeping
operations and in tree deadouts. Those spores are still viable today.
We get reports of AFB at our club from beekeepers with new equipment getting
AFB in their hives. Rare but happens!

A couple hives in hundreds is indeed amazing in an outfit which does not
treat as a preventative but Dee's bees are in fairly remote areas and not
exposed to other beekeepers bees which are being treated to prevent the
active disease but STILL carry the spores. Here in lies the problem.

Robbing is going on big time this fall in Missouri. Bees are even being seen
big time in empty pop cans looking for syrup. A small feral colony with a
large opening can be in trouble if weakened by mites or foulbrood.

Commercial beekeepers which do not treat as a preventative for AFB and go to
California have been having serious AFB issues on their return. When asked
the beekeepers sitting next to them in California are not reporting AFB
problems. My guess is the beekeepers are bringing back spores from robbing
etc.

THE KEY TO AFB IN A COMMERCIAL OPERATION IS SMELL. KNOW THE AFB SMELL!
TRYING TO FIND A SINGLE CELL OF AFB AMONG HUNDREDS OF HIVES IS LIKE LOOKING
FOR A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK.

The smell is unmistakable once you know the smell. Two years ago a certified
master beekeeper  brought 10 deadouts to get bees put in. The first whiff of
the boxes told the story. He did not know the smell nor had ever been shown
a real comb of AFB! He had seen pictures in books and should have I'd the
problem but did not. If you belong to a bee club and you get a frame of AFB
take to the meeting. Let all the new beeks look and smell the frame. The bee
book description of *smells like a glue pot* means little. I have never seen
or smelled a glue pot! We need to find a reference other than glue pot to
put in the new bee books!
Dogs can be easily be trained to find the AFB smell but dogs and bee hives
are not very compatible.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri

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