> Tylosin tartrate has a well-demonstrated effect
> against AFB yet I still practice burning, treating
> the apparently-healthy adjacent hives to prevent
> spread of the infection to them.
This is the second time in recent months an experienced beekeeper has
mentioned this "treat adjacent hives" approach to AFB.
If a beekeeper choses to use antibiotics for AFB, why are only the hives on
either side dusted?
If the hive was badly-enough infected to prompt burning, wouldn't there be a
very good chance that the entire yard had already started robbing it at some
low, hard to perceive level, and thus be infected at some level, prompting
yard-wide treatment?
If the rationale is "because of drift", there are a number of studies that
show that bees would only rarely drift to the adjacent hives, here's the
oldest and most concise:
"The drifting of honey-bees"
The Journal of Agricultural Science / Volume 51 / Issue 03 / December 1958,
pp 294-306
J. B. Free
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=8946A1E2EBDF
72AF5A4302EF4DF80FDE.journals?fromPage=online&aid=4592000
or
http://tinyurl.com/oym7h7a
None of the studies I've seen found the bulk of the drift being to only
adjacent hives. Assuming rows, the bees tend to drift to the hives at the
ends of the rows, with preference given to the downwind end of the row. If
rows and columns exist, drift is more likely to hives in the front of and
the far end of the row of removed colony. So, if an antibiotic is used to
protect hives where bees might drift, why only treat the adjacent ones in
the same row? Wouldn't wider use be a "safer wager"?
But the entire concern about drift seems misplaced - drifting bees
(returning foragers) don't spread much AFB at all according to several
studies, for example:
"The results suggest that drifting of honey bees is not a particularly
important cause of the spread of AFB."
"The effect of drifting honey bees on the spread of American foulbrood
infections"
Goodwin, Perry, Ten-Houten (1994)
J. Apic. Res. 33, 209-212.
http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/Drifting-honey-bees-and-spread-of-AFB
or
http://tinyurl.com/mldd4gf
So, what spawned what seems a widespread practice of "treat adjacent" and/or
"treat on the risk of drift"?
I submit for consideration that the AFB vectors are hive-to-hive movement of
frames/gear with spores, and robbing, not drifting.
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