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Diseases of Honey Bees

European foulbrood (Terramycin® application)

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In some cases, European foulbrood can be eliminated by requeening colonies with a young queen. Requeening accomplishes two things: it gives the colony a more prolific queen and it provides a time lag between brood cycles that allows the house bees to remove diseased larvae. In advanced cases, the antibiotic Terramycin can be fed as treatment for the disease. Treatments are normally made at least one month before the first major nectar flow, and again after the honey crop has been removed. However, if the disease threatens the survival of the colony, Terramycin may be fed at anytime of the year. If treatment is given just before or during a honey flow, extracting supers must be removed prior to treatment and any honey produced during the season cannot be used for human consumption Because Terramycin is relatively unstable in honey or syrup solutions, it should be fed as a dust mixed with powdered sugar.