Diseases, parasites, predators: essential knowledge to understand your colonies and help protect them.
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Recognise signs, understand risks and find essential information in one place.
20 factsheets to explore
Acute bee paralysis (ABPV, KBV, IAPV): the viruses, the role of varroa, the debated link with CCD, symptoms, PCR diagnosis and preventing late-summer collapse.
Apiary biosecurity: how diseases get in, buying bees and health certificates, quarantine, drifting, robbing, feeding, migratory beekeeping, registration and records.
Chalkbrood (Ascosphaera apis): biology of the fungus, white and black mummies, contributing factors, hygienic behaviour and prevention measures.
Chronic bee paralysis (CBPV): trembling, black, hairless bees and piles of dead bees at the entrance. Transmission, PCR diagnosis and apiary measures.
Deformed wing virus (DWV): variants A and B, transmission by varroa, symptoms, covert infections, diagnosis and what to do in the apiary.
Clean, then disinfect hives, frames and tools: scraping, scorching, caustic soda, hot wax dipping, irradiation. Methods by material and disease.
Honey bee dysentery: why bees soil the hive in late winter, the causes (stores, confinement, nosema), how to diagnose it and how to prevent it.
European foulbrood (Melissococcus plutonius): mechanism, affected larvae, how it differs from AFB, field tests, regulations and the shook swarm step by step.
Mice, wood mice and shrews in the hive in winter: damage, signs of presence, mouse guards, protecting stored combs, and woodpeckers as another winter predator.
Nosema disease: biology of the two honey bee microsporidia, symptoms, diagnosis by microscope and PCR, regulation and hygiene measures.
Pesticides and honey bees: exposure routes, key chemical families, acute and sublethal effects, rules on spraying in bloom, sampling and reporting bee kills.
Sacbrood (SBV): the sac-shaped larva and "gondola" scale, spread by nurse bees, how to tell it from foulbrood, PCR testing and what to do in the apiary.
Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida): life cycle, damage, how to tell it from wax moth, monitoring traps, the situation in Italy and mandatory reporting.
Tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi): biology of the mite in the bee's breathing tubes, unreliable signs, step-by-step dissection, regulatory status and control.
Tropilaelaps, the Asian brood mite: biology, differences from varroa, spread towards Europe, detection methods and what to do if you suspect it.
Greater and lesser wax moth: life cycle, tunnels, cocoons, bald brood, how to tell them from small hive beetle, and how to store combs without damage.
Winter colony losses: COLOSS figures, winter bees, main causes (varroa, starvation, queen), reading a dead hive and preparing colonies for winter.
Varroa destructor: reproductive cycle, symptoms, mite counts, treatment thresholds, non-chemical methods and authorised treatments, season by season.
American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae): biology, symptoms, rope test, laboratory diagnosis, mandatory reporting, control measures and disinfecting equipment.
Yellow-legged Asian hornet: invasion history, yearly cycle, foraging paralysis, entrance guards, electric harps, selective trapping, nest removal and the law.
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An independent, referenced encyclopedia of honey bee health, open to all.
Structured factsheets: signs to observe, biology, prevention and management.
References are available at the bottom of each factsheet for further reading and verification.
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Little bees.
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