5:11 Chalk brood isn’t a bacteria, it’s a fungus

Thanks for your effort to educate the public about bees.

I have chalkbrood infested hive, I notice that the fungus even causes mold in the pollen, I'm not an expert but my feeling is, I think the cause was damp under ventilation. It is contagious and old frames spotted it. Yes a strong resistance queen will help but I don't think it's the whole story. I'm venting the bottom boards under the side walls in future to reduce moisture buildup, also when feeding liquid syrup extra vents need to be opened in the crownboard. I go in on a hot day lift out a frame shake off the bees then as quick as possible I pick out the chalkbrood with a toothpick, I think this helps to reduce the infection also giving the Queen more space to lay me eggs, my hope is once numbers go up bees will over rule the infection and be able to once again kero it under control. Best to dust off and start again as it is a fungal spore that resides in the pollen which in turn is fed to the brood. This is only my personal opinion from my own research and personal experience and expense, if say start fresh. I'm hoping to build big enough to split with new frames equipment, best thing with disease is to cull it. Not a minor problem get rid of it.

I think a good reference would be feeding bees by Bob, the sterilization effect of fresh nectar/sugar syrup has on the colony is almost undeniable. Hydrogen peroxide and gluconic acid produced turning sucrose into honey is anti fungal and anti bacterial.

Thanks a lot for your helpful information and I wish from you to provide us more and more videos

Unfortunately, giving them a cell from a resistant line doesn't completely solve the problem. The virgin queen, if/when she emerges, may mate with drones which originate from susceptible queens. The only way to truly remove the problem is to introduce queens that are control-mated on both sides of the ancestry to be resistant.

@BlackMountainHoney

3 жыл бұрын

Paul. I agree but its an iterative process. The more susceptible queens that are replaced, the higher the chances of the new open mated queen being resistant to the bacteria. A controlled mated queen on both sides is the gold plated, foolpoof solution but I'm sure most beekeepers wouldnt want to stretch to that expense. They can often be upwards of £100 each for a queen thats controlled on both sides. Ive had great success eradicating chalk brood by adding cells and open mating but Ill concede, its not guaranteed.

@ApiaryManager

3 жыл бұрын

@@BlackMountainHoney It is indeed. If everyone did it, chalkbrood in managed colonies would become insignificant/eradicated so it's an issue of awareness/motivation among beekeepers. I pay far less than that, but I participate in a carnica breeding programme. I only ever see signs of chalkbrood in F1 open-mated queens and, like you, this is minimal.

@BlackMountainHoney

3 жыл бұрын

I'm with you on that one. The odd cell we will let slide but numerous cells and its time for the squish and a new cell or queen if we have them available. Its very rare now that we see a bad case of it and act quickly to remove those genetics

nice video. however, it's not a bacterial disease.

@BlackMountainHoney

3 жыл бұрын

Yes - sorry I corrected this above. Slip of the tongue. Its fungal

i need your help! my bees were healthy and really strong . weather was good and really warm but after that weather got worse and was really cold and rainy and after that i noticed chalk brood in some strong hives. can they heal them self?

How long do you wait to requeen? I have been told to wait 9-10 days and introduce a new queen and kill all queen cells. Do I have to kill all the larva or just the queen cells?

My first colony got infected with chalkbrood. They were going strong and then rainy season came with about a week of heavy rain then the mummies appeared and almost half the colony died 😭 what i wonder about is that even when the colony was down to about less than 200 bees the queen was still alive. Why didn't the colony replace her?

the biggest problem with this plan is knowing what queen line you are replacing her with. I havent been breeding queens long enough to know all the strengths in a queens line. so should I requeen anyway, and hope she is better

@BlackMountainHoney

3 жыл бұрын

Yes its always a risk. Most queens tend to show at least some resistance to chalk brood. If you are adding cells you are always at the mercy of local drones. Controlled on both sides is definitely best but can be expensive

I was under the impression that chalk brood was fungal, not bacterial.

@johnowen9831

Жыл бұрын

Your right Sci Fi Guy

Epic video - thank you! I have a problem with chalk brood at the moment with a hive which I have had to requeen due to a failing Queen and so the hive is week however, by the sound of it I have done the best remedy for chalkbrood - requeening. I do not rear my own queens and so a got one of your F1 buckfasts and I was wondering about your opinion of them for chalkbrood resistance. Should I requeen again with a more resistant Queen or is this one good? Thanks!

@jaibusby673

Жыл бұрын

You can get rid of chalkbrood by a very hygiene strain of queen, but this guy is almost completely wrong, quick google search reveals that its a fungus when nurse bees feed the spores to larvae . If shes a good queen provide more ventilation and try using new frames, I guess cider vinegar if you feeding them sugar syrup to help change the pH level wouldn't hurt. Not sure why he keeps calling it bacterial.

👍

Chalkbrood isn„t a bacterial infection! American and european fullbrood are! Michael beekeeper from Roumania.

@BlackMountainHoney

2 ай бұрын

corrected in the comments 3 years ago ;) Thanks though

Whats the best way to kill the queen?

Will they throw out white hard pieces of stuff to front.

@BlackMountainHoney

3 жыл бұрын

Yes they will deposit the mummies

@scottpierson7495

3 жыл бұрын

@@BlackMountainHoney well I have it then. Guess I will wait and see if they can clear it up. She was one of my breeder queens I’m in Northern California we have had crazy weather hot and then cold never had this in any colonies so guess I will see if they can fix it. She is a good queen. To bad.

@BlackMountainHoney

3 жыл бұрын

@@scottpierson7495 Oh no. Bad news if you bred from her as all of her daughters will be susceptible. Its not the end of the world if its minor though

This doesn’t really make sense if it’s a bacterial infection…how a new queens is going to get rid of bacteria is a mystery. I know nothing about bees but something about bacteria 😂

@BlackMountainHoney

Жыл бұрын

It was corrected in the comments. Apologies for the confusion. It's fungal