Welcome to NY Bee Wellness, your source for maintaining healthy honey bee colonies

an educational nonprofit program to teach beekeepers honey bee disease recognition & to promote honey bee health

American Foul Brood (AFB)

Identifying American Foulbrood

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Identifying American Foulbrood, a spore forming bacterial bacillus brood disease, is very important as it is highly contagious to bees. Please familiarize yourself to the hallmarks or signs of AFB and preventing a disease outbreak:

  • Scattered brood
  • darkened, greasy, and/or perforated cappings
  • slimy, discolored cell contents that “rope- out” using a toothpick or match
  • Foul, off, decayed smell
  • older, desiccated frames will show a tough scale atbottom of the cell

Caused and spread by:

  • Used equipment, especially with unknown history
  • Bees robbing another hive that is infected
  • feeding bees honey & pollen contaminated w/AFB
  • Buying infected nucs, bees

 

*Apiary & Hive Inspection with a NYS Inspector
– a NY Bee Wellness video

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*A  power point presentation on American Foulbrood:

Identifying American Foul Brood


Apiary & Hive Inspection with a NYS Inspector - a NY Bee Wellness video


AFB Holst Milk Test Randy Oliver NY Bee Wellness


Resources