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. In September 2009 Holsworthy branch arranged a day of testing for members and out of over 70 samples 26% were found to have light to medium Nosema infection and 74% were pronounced clear. The start of a new beekeeping season is a good time to test our colonies so that they have a good start.

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 11 September 2010 at our usual winter meeting location, 'The Stables', Chilsworthy Methodist Church (map) . 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. Instructions on how to collect the sample can be downloaded from here: Nosema sample instructions

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