European Foulbrood#
1 . What is the name of the bacterium that causes European Foulbrood?
Melissococcus plutonius
2 . When does European foulbrood (EFB) appear in a colony and why?
It usually occurs at the beginning of the spring nectar flow. When larvae are infected with EFB they have huge appetites and require increased feeding from nurse bees, which keeps the infection going. However, when foraging begins the attention is shifted and there are fewer nurse bees to feed infected larvae. Therefore EFB infections will slowly decrease and the disease will die out. EFB can remain in the colony through contaminated feces from infected larvae, however it does not form spores like AFB.
3 . When looking into a hive, how can you tell the difference between AFB infected brood and EFB infected brood?
Larvae that die from EFB die young, when still in the feeding stage (mobile) which is why they can appear twisted at the bottom of the cell.
Infected EFB larvae have a range of colors from white, yellow, grey to black
AFB infected brood are in the capped pupal stage while EFB are uncapped larvae.
EFB is characterized by patchy brood patterns where uncapped brood cells have dead or dying larvae that are sometimes curled upwards making the larvae look to be ‘molten’ in the cell.
4 . How is EFB spread and how can it be prevented?
EFB is spread by using contaminated equipment or tools and by drifting or robbing bees
EFB can be prevented by purchasing new equipment and practicing sanitary habits while working colonies (washing and sterilizing hands and tools).
5 . How can a beekeeper overcome the problem of EFB in an infected hive?
Donate healthy uncapped brood frames since healthy brood competes for feeding and attention from infected brood and the infected brood dies sooner and is eliminated
Supplemental feeding