Spores of Bacillus larvae were recovered
from the rectal sac contents of adult worker
bees, Apis mellifera

Wilson later proved that recovered
spores were viable when plated in
an artificial medium, and caused American
foulbrood disease when fed to susceptible
honey bee larvae. Since adult worker bees
egest their feces while in flight gathered feces
deposited outside an infected hive and
found spores to be present. In further studies
Wilson  reported that egested spores, 
protected by the bee feces, were still
viable after 600 hr of exposure to sunlight.

Neither the gut contents, nor the
short-period exposure of feces to sunlight,
killed these spores. Egestion of viable
spores into the immediate area around an
apiary could provide a reservoir of the
pathogen for future infection.

Persistence of Viable bacillus larvae Spores in the Feces
of Adults Permitted Flight
WILLIAM T. WILSON
JOURNAL OF INVERTEBRATE PATHOLOGY 20, 165-169 (1972)

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