Chalk brood

[Eric McArthur]

The Drone Ranger wrote:
[QUOTE=When the requeened bees were shaken on to new foundation and fed the chalkbrood dissapeared
That hive has stayed clear this year.

Len Heath did some sterling work on Chalkbrood some years ago.
Using his study assisted in the work mooted in the pasted link!



[url]www.moraybeedinosaurs.co.uk/Varroa/chalk.htm[/url]

Professor Len Heath investigated the disease ... The CABA apiary bees exhibited negligible chalk brood this year 2008 and again the Open Day on 20th July ...

[masterbk]

I found that when I changed all the solid floorsto OMfloors the problems of chalk brood in colonies more or less disappeared and now I rarely see it (I had just one colony out of 28 colonies with a few cells of chalk brood it this year). I think researchers have found that Carbon dioxide is a trigger for chalkbrood spore germination so maybe the extra ventilation of the mesh floor reduced accumulation of carbon dioxide (produced by respiration of the bees) preventing chalk brood spore activation

[Jon]

I have a mix of open mesh floors and solid floors and I have never noticed a correlation with chalk brood and I do look out for those things. I have certainly come across bad chalk brood on colonies which are sitting on an open mesh floor. Proper data needed of course but I doubt there is any correlation.

[nemphlar]

I'm confused is Eric back

[chris]

I tried omf's and am now back on solid floors with a couple of 2 inch diameter ventilation holes. The reason I tried omf's was because of chalkbrood problems. It did seem to help clear it up, but I suspect requeening was the main reason.(Together with leaving insulation on in early spring.) I haven't had chalkbood colonies since going back to solid floors

I'm confused is Eric back

Yes, but he seems to have gone advanced at last

[masterbk]

Extensive review paper on chalk brood might be of interest to the more scientific beekeepers on this forum

http://www.bijenhouders.nl/files/Bij...stein-2010.pdf

[The Drone Ranger]

It would nice if he was back in some ways even Grumpy was part of the choir.
Hi ho hi ho its off to work we go

[The Drone Ranger]

Heres a little clip of Eric McAthur's findings

"To cut a long story short I am convinced, despite all the science and scrutiny that has gone before that the explanation for out breaks of chalk brood has nothing to do with queen quality, genetic resistance or good house keeping on the part of the colony. In my opinion the disease is a condition of inadequate food and more specifically the dearth of income of nectar or the lack of liquid feeding. The application of the formic acid in the 2007 case I am certain was not of any great significance. But that is not to say that used hive furniture should not be adequately sterilised before use.
."

Now I can't say if that is wrong or right, but my experience is that changing queens won't fix chalk brood which agrees with what Eric says in his article
If you were starting from scratch with a new hive and combs etc a different queen might be more resistant
But replacing combs with ones sterilised by acetic acid wont work either which was part of the method used to fix the problem in Erics case
Also I am inclined to believe that if the chalk brood mummies are thrown out and the cells filled with sugar syrup the problem will dissapear for a while but I think as soon as those stores are uncapped there is every reason to expect it will return.

For all I know Eric has gone on to investigate this further and may have some new insights
I don't think he was trying to give a definitive answer to chalk brood just stimulating a debate
Heres the link http://www.moraybeedinosaurs.co.uk/Varroa/chalk.htm

[Eric McArthur]

I'm confused is Eric back

Be confused no more!

Eric

[Eric McArthur]

Heres a little clip of Eric McAthur's findings
[I]
For all I know Eric has gone on to investigate this further and may have some new insights
I don't think he was trying to give a definitive answer to chalk brood just stimulating a debate
Heres the link http://www.moraybeedinosaurs.co.uk/Varroa/chalk.htm

.............................................
Timeous syrup feeding in late winter, followed by solidly crystalised sugar in kilo bags over winter, then sugar syrup feeding from mid March till the bees are actually foraging on the first major early summer nectar sources has worked for me since 2007.