josh jaros wrote:

> Before you do anything, you'd better find out if you really do have
> AFB.  It gives off a very distinct odor and if you insert an object
> into one of the open cells, there will be a very grey or brownish
> liquid.  Also, if you would uncap a few of the brood cells, you will
> notice this liquid as well.  The AFB has simply broken down the
> larvae.  Now it could be very hard for you do detect AFB for your
> first time if you are just starting out.

Actually, those symptoms can be associated with other problems. For
example, you can get a "foul" smell with some ripening honeys and
sacbrood will give some liquid with brown larva. We are asking a new
beekeeper to distinguish differences between what many have never seen
or smelled.

The better indicators for the new beekeeper are: the pupal tongue
sticking straight up from the remains on the cell floor; the larval
remains "rope out" when a matchstick or toothpick are inserted in the
larval remains and pulled out (does not always work with every cell);
cappings are shrunken and small holes appear in them; and scale on the
bottom of cells that does not come out. (All that in addition to the
differences between AFB and EFB and the color of dieing/dead pupa,
again, things an expert needs to evaluate.) BTW, all this is in just
about every comprehensive Beekeeping book.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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