Dieter Schuerer wrote earlier on organicbeekeepers:
>
>  In a  report from Sweden, I read that there are about 40 micro
>  organisms in a  beehive that live in symbiosis with the bees and thus
> help them survive.  These micro organisms are probably harmed when
> using acids and other  chemicals and certainly also when using  anti
> biotics.
>
> Does anyone  have more information  on what type of microfauna there
> is in a hive? I have  not found  anything on the internet on this.

Reply:
Dieter, earlier I referenced Dr Martha A. Gilliam to you. Here is  a little
more for how deep she went into the subject matter.

In her search for beneficial bacteria, yeasts, and molds of the bee world,
Gilliam worked with and combed hives of the familiar European honey  bee, Apis
mellifera, in the United States and abroad. Her  sleuthing throughout her
career I believe yielded some 8,000 strains  of microbes that she  painstakingly
isolated and identified. Over 1,000  alone she used to keep in a freezer for
her lab work.

These are relative to our honeybees by the way, so I would think that there
are more then 40 micro organisms we as beekeepers would have to consider
hurting, when we apply various treatments within colonies,. that also means
contact with the body of the bees themselves in beneficial parasitic host
relationships.

Regards,

Dee A. Lusby

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