Foul Brood Strikes a Hive

So we went out to Capote so Mark could put some treatment on the hive he noticed needing some attention. He also told me there was a certain smell to the foul brood disease that was in that little hive – so he confirmed what I had read as I was learning about what foul brood is all about. We have been so busy that we haven’t had much time to fully discuss this situation but Mark did say he thought it was the European and not American version. The above frame is an example Mark brought over to show me (I was safely tucked in the truck and all I had to do is occasionally roll down the window). At first, i thought the brood pattern indicated the problem since to me it looks splotchy. But Mark said it actually was okay. The real problem can be seen in the picture below. Note the broken cappings over some of the cells. This indicates that the bees were going in there and getting rid of the inflicted bees before they are even born. Sort of sad to me but they do that to try and save the rest of the hive. Good job bees.

Below, Mark is dusting that hive with the equivalent of an antibiotic for bees. Hopefully it will help us with the situation. We will keep you posted on this development. Thankfully it’s not in all the hives.