Hygenic behavior of honey bees
Adult house bee intervention
The disappearance of disease symptoms in a colony is due to the hygienic behaviour of honey bees.
Adult house bees can be very efficient in recognising and removing diseased brood. For instance, in one trial 50% of the diseased larvae were removed before they were 11 days old, which is before such larvae show any visible symptoms of the disease and before spores are produced.
As well, a colony may produce diseased larvae and pupae containing spores, but the house bees can be so efficient at cleaning the cells that most of the new larvae reared in those cells will not become diseased.
Hygienic behaviour in honey bees is controlled at least partly by two recessive genes, one for the uncapping of cells, and the other for the removal of brood remains. The degree of hygienic behaviour varies between colonies, both because of the genetic composition of the worker bees, and because of the strength and age distribution of the colony population.
The more hygienic a honey bee colony is, the more resistant it will be to AFB infections.
It is possible to select for hygienic behaviour? See selecting breeding stock for hygienic behaviour.
Videos
Our videos cover everything from your legal obligations to how to recognise AFB, collecting cell and bee samples and more.
Symptoms
There’s a lot of good information here, telling you everything you need to know about recognising AFB: the visual symptoms, smell of AFB and more.
Inspection and Diagnosis
Successfully eliminate AFB by telling the difference between symptoms of AFB and other brood diseases in the hive. We tell you the best methods for inspecting your hives.
The Law
New Zealand beekeepers have a number of legal obligations that must be met regarding AFB disease. Read the shortened list in summary, here.
Elimination
Most hives become infected because bees, honey or equipment have been put into a hive from another hive that is infected with AFB. Lower your chances of an AFB infection by reading this section.
AFB Recognition Course Info
Find out when the next AFB Recognition and Competency Courses, or Refresher Courses are available. These are held throughout the year in various New Zealand locations across the South Island and North Island.
The AFB App
Follow the link below to open the App. Once open to save to your device you need to bookmark the URL on your phone so you can find it easily again. Please click here to open.