VirusesABPV, KBV, IAPV complex
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Acute bee paralysis
Acute bee paralysis: the ABPV, KBV and IAPV viruses, their link with varroa and late-summer colony collapse. Symptoms and prevention.
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Honey bee health encyclopediaHoney bee
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Diseases, parasites, predators: essential knowledge to understand your colonies and help protect them.
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20 factsheets to explore
Hygiene and biosecurity
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Apiary biosecurity
Apiary biosecurity: buying colonies and queens, quarantine, robbing, feeding and traceability. The habits that keep diseases out.
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Brood diseasesAscosphaera apis
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Chalkbrood
Chalkbrood (Ascosphaera apis): the white or grey mummified larvae, the conditions that favour it and the simple steps that keep it down.
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VirusesChronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV)
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Chronic bee paralysis
Chronic bee paralysis (CBPV): trembling, black, hairless bees and piles of dead bees outside the hive. Causes, transmission and what to do.
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VirusesDeformed wing virus (DWV)
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Deformed wing virus
Deformed wing virus (DWV): symptoms, its direct link with varroa, and why controlling the mite is the only real defence.
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Hygiene and biosecurity
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Cleaning and disinfecting equipment
Cleaning and disinfecting hives, frames and tools: scraping, scorching, baths and comb renewal. Methods by material and disease.
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Adult bee diseases
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Dysentery
Honey bee dysentery: faecal staining on combs and the hive front at the end of winter. Causes (stores, confinement, nosema) and prevention.
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Brood diseasesMelissococcus plutonius
HEALTH FACTSHEET
European foulbrood
European foulbrood (Melissococcus plutonius): recognising affected larvae, telling it apart from American foulbrood and getting the colony back on its feet.
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Predators
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Mice and rodents
Mice and rodents in the hive in winter: damage, signs of their presence and fitting mouse guards at the right time.
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Adult bee diseasesVairimorpha (Nosema) apis and ceranae
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Nosemosis
Nosema disease: the two honey bee microsporidia, their different symptoms, diagnosis under the microscope and prevention.
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Poisoning
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Pesticide poisoning
Honey bee poisoning by plant protection products: warning signs, immediate steps, sampling and reporting to the authorities.
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VirusesSacbrood virus (SBV)
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Sacbrood
Sacbrood: the sac-shaped larva with its raised "gondola" head, how to tell it apart from foulbrood, and why it often clears up on its own.
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ParasitesAethina tumida
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Small hive beetle
Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida): recognising adults and larvae, telling it apart from wax moth, and mandatory reporting.
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ParasitesAcarapis woodi
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Tracheal mite (acarapisosis)
Tracheal mite: the tiny mite living in the bee's breathing tubes, "K-wing", diagnosis by dissection and what to do.
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ParasitesTropilaelaps mercedesae
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Tropilaelaps
Tropilaelaps: the Asian mite now at Europe's doorstep. How to recognise it, tell it apart from varroa and report it without delay.
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PredatorsGalleria mellonella and Achroia grisella
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Wax moth
Wax moth: recognising tunnels and cocoons, protecting weak colonies and storing combs without damage.
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Adult bee diseases
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Winter losses
Dead hive in winter: how to read a dead colony to find the cause (varroa, starvation, queen, nosema) and prevent it happening again.
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ParasitesVarroa destructor
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Varroa mites and varroosis
Varroa destructor: reproductive cycle, symptoms, mite counts, treatment thresholds, non-chemical methods and authorised treatments, season by season.
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Brood diseasesPaenibacillus larvae
HEALTH FACTSHEET
American foulbrood
American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae): recognising the signs, the rope test, differential diagnosis, mandatory reporting and control measures.
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PredatorsVespa velutina nigrithorax
HEALTH FACTSHEET
Asian hornet
Yellow-legged Asian hornet: identification, yearly cycle, impact on colonies, ways to protect the apiary and the regulatory framework.
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KNOWLEDGE IN THE SERVICE OF LIFEField experience.
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An independent encyclopedia of honey bee health, published by a professional bee breeder.
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Understand before acting
Structured factsheets: signs to observe, biology, prevention and management.
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