THE NEW DESTROYER.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 136, 10 June 1898, Page 3

THE NEW DESTROYER.

On the 18th March last Mr E. K. K. Sands, of. "Whangarei, sent me the following report:—'lt has been a very Rood honey season here, and 1 have taken an average of OOlbs per hive. I would have taken much more had T not had to shift the bees into new siives on account of foul brood. From ore hive free from the disease I took 130 sections of honey, and as late as lact week I had to cut out queen cells from several hives to keep the bees from swarming. It has been a great year for swarms in the bush, and my boys have taken over twenty close by Us. Half of them were foul broody, atiu two of them had what appeared h new complaint. The sealed brood j>ad been destroyed by a bright yellow fungus; there were many dead beej< around the trees they were taken from.'

Recognising this yellow fungus as likely to be a new destructive agency, 1 wrote to Mr Sands to kindly furnish Ke with further particulars for pubIjcation, which he did as follows:— Early in June last my boys, who we engaged in hunting for wild bee nests, brought home a lot of nearly new brood combs. As there We several cells from which the Wood had not emerged, I investig^ea, with the result that I found l»e cells full of a.bright yullow pow*s substance, evidently a fungus, wiiiph had destroyed the brood. It „ v °in the empty portions of the comb. Other combs'clear of fungus c °nt6 in ed healthy brood. There were no, many bees in the nest from which I I*"3 were taken, but great numoor3 dead at the foot of the tree. I Paced the combs containing sealed wood in one of my weak hives, but l^e brood died directly it came to tfa v y> and the fungous appeared ftf'it § an t0 sPread on to the sides *Lv? c,nive When I removed and destroyed all the combs. My boys cam« w rJ OmQ more nests—some deserted km, a in S lhe full fe r"«- When I rZ 6 aoross another 1 will send you s°me comb to examine—Yours truly, 'R. K. K. SANDS, lit,*. -*■ 'Whangarei.' fc , m!l ahy other of our readers seen a J'fflilar thing? It appears at present oe something entirely new, but we "n say uitie about the matter one leSri other tUI we liave an in" fill r?olnb examined under a powerWeft. i OBC°Pe' Which X shall he C? M to have done as soon as Mr 7 s can send me a piece. APis," in « N.Z. Farmer " for June.