USE OF SIMPLE DISSECTION METHODS FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS IN HONEY BEES


Findlay,* J.R.1

1. Extension Educator, University of Idaho Cooperative Extension, Bannock County, Pocatello, Idaho 82302

Honey Bees (Apis melliferia) are vitally important to agriculture because they not only produce honey, but are also responsible for much of the pollination of the crops we depend on for food. Recently honey bee populations have been on the decline due to disease and stress. Disease control in honey bees depends on proper diagnosis of the disease. Most beekeepers lack simple dissection skills that would enable them to properly diagnose common honey bee diseases. By using simple dissection methods that can be employed in the field, beekeepers can readily diagnose many honey bee diseases as well as determine the level of infection or infestation. These methods only require simple tools such as a microscope, glass slides, insect pins, forceps, and scissors or a scalpel. Nosema (Nosema apis) is a honey bee disease caused by bacteria that invade the bee’s gut. It is almost impossible to determine by looking at live bees in the hive, but is easily diagnosed when the hind gut is excised from a number of representative bees. Tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi) are parasitic arachnids that invade the breathing tubes or trachea of honey bees. As with other bee diseases it is difficult to determine if a bee has tracheal mites by a casual observation of the intact bee. Bees are rather large insects that also have rather large trachea which can be easily removed and searched for mites. Extension educators will be taught how to dissect honey bees in order to diagnose disease.