Hi all...
Chalkbrood disease is caused by an invasive fungus which germinates rapidly
penetrates the gut wall and spreads throughout the larval tissues eventually
resulting in the characteristic mummified larvae.
        I was wondering, and I'm sure that this has been tried but, in
tissue cell culture one can use FUNGIZONE (amphotericin B) to control
fungal contamination -- what would happen if this was
fed to bees, will it provide protection against infection by germination
spores or will it kill the bees or brood??
        Unfortunatly amphotericin is so expensive that it will hardly
be used in beekeeping (ICN  70.60 UK pounds for 500 mg).
        Obviously its not a cure as there would still be lots of spores
present in the hive.  Other anti-fungal agents have been tried, perhaps
someone who has experimented with these can tell us what happened?
 
Lets hope that this gets some interesting discussion going!
 
Philip Earle
Queen's University
Northern Ireland.