Holsworthy Beekeepers

Nosema testing and diagnosis

As well as the more familiar Nosema apis our bees now have to cope with Nosema ceranae, the Asian variant. Both of these pathogens can cause a gradual decline in the number of bees in a hive (the 'dwindling syndrome') until the colony collapses completely. There was an interesting article in Bee Craft Jan 2008 on Nosema ceranae written by Giles Budge of the NBU and a copy is available on the NBU website at BeeCraftJan2008nosema

It is possible to test for the presence of Nosema and, if necessary, effective treatment is available. The Holsworthy branch has been arranging its own nosema testing day since April 2009, this has proved to be increasingly popular with members. At the last session, in April 2011, 23 members brought 91 samples for testing. A summary of the results showed that 81% of the samples had no evidence of infection, 6% has a light infection, 7% a medium infection and 7% heavy.

Beekeepers can send bees to the National Bee Unit for Nosema testing at a cost of £10 per sample but why pay that much when you can have the same service in Holsworthy for £1 per sample?

Holsworthy Nosema diagnosis day

The branch is providing another Nosema diagnosis day on Saturday 3 September 2011 at our usual winter meeting location, 'The Stables', Chilsworthy Methodist Church, EX22 7BH (map)

Testing at this time of the year will enable members to take any necessary action and ensure that their bees were treated for Nosema before the winter.

Samples should be delivered between 10.00 and 12:00 noon either in person or by another member. The first 6 samples are free, after that the charge is £1 for each sample. All costs are waived if the member comes along on the day to help – plenty of instruction and guidance given. This is an ideal opportunity to learn about Nosema testing.

Instructions on how to collect the sample can be downloaded from here: Nosema sample instructions

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