Calcareous brood, or ascospherosis, is a rather dangerous infectious pathology that provokes the death of bee larvae and pupae. The disease is characterized by fairly pronounced symptoms that even a novice beekeeper can recognize. Most often they appear in spring. At the same time, many people are interested in how to treat calcareous brood in bees. To cope with this pathology, you can use medicines and folk remedies.
Description of lime brood
This term refers to mycosis, which provokes the death of young representatives of Hymenoptera. When infected with fungi, the larvae and pupae of all types of bees - foragers, workers, drones, queens - suffer. According to research, pupae die the most at the age of 3 days.
The development of the disease is caused by the fungus Ascosphaera apis. The peculiarity of the infection is that it develops exclusively in living organisms. When it enters a larva, egg or pupa, the fungus immediately finds the intestines. There it settles and immediately begins to grow.
The mycelium quickly infects the body of the future bee. In this case, thin thread-like processes affect the internal organs and grow outward. As a result, the pupa grows to incredible sizes and acquires a yellow tint.
After some time, the mycelium dries out. At this stage, the body of the larva and pupa becomes a dry sliver. Dead individuals look like particles of chalk or lime. That is why the disease began to be called calcareous brood.
It is important to consider that after the death of one pupa, fungal fibers infect neighboring combs. As a result, the pathology covers the entire part of the hive in which the brood is raised.
Stages of the disease
Ascospherosis has several stages of development:
- light;
- average;
- heavy.
The light stage is also called latent, since the number of dead larvae does not exceed 5. This number is difficult to notice. However, the fungus can grow rapidly, moving to the next stage.
At the middle stage, the number of dead larvae increases to 5-10. The severe stage is accompanied by larger losses. In this case, 100-150 larvae die.
It is believed that mild and moderate ascospherosis need not be treated, since it does not lead to significant losses.However, experienced experts advise fighting the disease immediately after identifying the outbreak. Otherwise, the fungus can lead to larger losses.
Causes and symptoms of ascospherosis
The development of pathology is caused by a marsupial fungus from the Ascosphaera apis family. It provokes damage to the queen bee, drone bee open and sealed brood at the stage of pupae and larvae.
Most often, the disease develops in spring and summer. The most dangerous month is May, which is characterized by unstable weather. First of all, ascospherosis affects weak bee colonies.
The risk of developing infection increases under the influence of the following factors:
- cool weather with high humidity;
- increased dampness in the nests;
- poor air circulation in the hives - it is very important that bee houses have high-quality ventilation;
- uncontrolled use of antibiotics, causing the development of spore colonies;
- the use of bee colonies in greenhouses - high humidity creates favorable conditions for the development of fungi.
It is possible to identify ascospherosis in the hive by characteristic signs. The main one is the presence of dead larvae. They can lie in front of the hive, on the landing site or at the bottom under the honeycombs. If you check the hive, you can see a white coating on the larvae. In unsealed cells, mold covers the head end of the larva. In sealed cells, the fungus grows through the lid and infects the larvae from the inside. In this case, the honeycomb is covered with a white coating.
In the opened cells there are hard lumps that are fixed on the walls of the honeycomb or lie freely at the bottom of the cells. They are larvae that died from ascospherosis.These lumps occupy 2/3 of the hundred. They are easily removed from the cells.
Diagnostics
To make an accurate diagnosis, you need to compare the symptoms of the pathology and conduct microscopic laboratory tests. For research, you need to remove small fragments of honeycombs from the hives - up to 15 centimeters. Up to 15 affected larvae can also be used.
Since ascospherosis is a quarantine pathology, when the diagnosis is confirmed, the apiary is declared unaffected by calcareous brood. In this case, she is quarantined and treated.
How to treat the disease?
The acute form of ascospherosis requires the removal of frames with symptoms of mycosis. At the same time, the house definitely needs to be updated. It is recommended to place new sushi and foundation sheets inside. The uterus also needs to be replaced. In addition, it is permissible to move the bee family to a new, disinfected hive.
Medicines
To deal with lime brood, it is recommended to call a veterinarian. The doctor must examine the hives, assess the condition of the families and prescribe treatment depending on the form of mycosis. In difficult cases, it is necessary to use special medications to combat fungi.
These include:
- "Unisan";
- "Nystatin";
- "Apiask";
- "Ascocin";
- "Askosan."
Each of the means has certain characteristics. Thus, “Apiask” is produced in the form of strips, the active component of which is clotrimazole. Cardboards must be placed in the houses. 1 strip is enough for 5 frames. However, the drug cannot be used during honey collection. Apiask can be used only in the spring or after the end of honey pumping.
"Unisan" is suitable for economical beekeepers.To prepare the solution, you need to take 1 milliliter of the drug and mix it with 500 milliliters of warm water. Pour the finished composition into a spray bottle and treat the frames with honeycombs.
Nystatin is produced in tablet form. It needs to be mixed with sweet powder. The finished composition is used for dusting honeycombs. It is recommended to use “Askosan” in a similar way.
"Ascocin" is available in liquid form. It needs to be mixed with sweet water. It is recommended to spray the frames with the resulting solution.
Folk remedies
In simple cases, herbal remedies can be used to treat ascospherosis. Garlic paste would be an excellent option. To do this, you need to take several heads of garlic, wrap them in cheesecloth and crush them. Place the finished composition in the hive. It needs to be changed at intervals of 5-8 days.
Prevention
To avoid the development of lime brood, it is recommended to do the following:
- keep only strong families in the apiary;
- insulate hives;
- provide high-quality ventilation;
- choose the right hives depending on the size of the family.
Calcareous brood is a dangerous pathology that leads to the death of bee pupae and larvae. To cope with the disease, you can use medications and home recipes.
