ARE you worried that your bees are suffering from diarrhoea?
If so help is at hand as the Exeter Beekeepers’ Association is holding a special day on Saturday April 12 to detect nosema, as the condition in bees is known.
According to committee member David McLarin, nosema is becoming more prevalent in the South West and that is not good news as bees with the problem hardly produce any honey.
It accelerates their metabolism so that if they get to the end of the summer having produced very little honey meaning they could starve during the winter.
Beekeepers wanting their bees tested should take them along to Topsham Rugby Club between 10am, and 3pm on April 12.
For the test to be carried out some 25 to 30 bees have to be killed, by trapping them in a bag and freezing them to death in a freezer.
They will then be ground up and traces of gut put onto a slide and examined under a microscope.
If nosema is detected the only treatment is for the bees to be given a new hive.
Read more: http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Exeter-Beekeepers-8217-Association-hold-day/story-20752347-detail/story.html#ixzz2xkEugXQ6
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