hi peter,

one must look at the bigger picture here.  there are several types of bacillus that inhibit the growth of chalkbrood that are also found in the hive.  there are several studies that discuss this.

in the end, it is not the presence or absence of 1 particular microbial pathogen that will affect the health of the colony...but the overall balance of the over 8000 microbes (the vast majority being non-pathogenic under any circumstances) that keeps infections in check.

antibiotic use (ie, the prophylactic use of terramycen) will not negatively impact the chalkbrood infection, but it will negatively impact the bacteria that do keep the chalkbrood in check...with predictable results.

again, this is well studied, and i don't expect you will have any trouble finding references to these studies.

the bottom line (seems to us) to be that the interrelationships between the microbes in the hive is too complex to be able to manipulate for long term positive impact for the bees.

deknow

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