Meleoz bees

Meleosis is an invasive disease caused by the parasitization of the larvae of Meloe beetles on the body of bees. The disease is usually short-lived, manifested by the excitement, anxiety of the bees and the death of a significant number of them.

The causative agent of the disease. Larvae of the t-shirt are variegated (Meloe variegatus Donov and T-shirts (Meloe proscarabaeus L.).

Adult forms of an ordinary shirt with a length of 16-33 mm, have a long abdomen and short elytra.

Ordinary T-shirts are black with a bluish tint. The thoracic shield is almost square. Antennae in males in the middle are curved and thickened. This kind of shirt is common everywhere. They occur in meadows and fields, illuminated by the sun, in groves and less often in gardens. These insects feed on plants, mainly herbaceous or shrubby plants. Worried T-shirts pick up their legs and from the joints give off a sharp, caustic, oily yellow liquid containing keratinid, causing on the skin the formation of blisters.

Females lay eggs on fields and meadows, mainly in the sun, in a dry loose ground, in previously dug pits to a depth of 2-5 cm; the number of eggs laid varies from 12 to 4218, depending on the types of shirts and their individual characteristics. Eggs light yellow, cylindrical, rounded to the ends, 1-1.5 mm long, 0.5 mm in diameter. From the eggs, after a certain time, small six-legged, rapidly moving larvae (triangulins) come out.

They are 1.3-1.8 mm long, yellow in color; the anterior part of the head is rounded with blunt edges. Larvae settle on the flowers of various plants: Compositae (dandelion, chamomile, .wash), cruciferous (rape, mustard), butterflies (sainfoin), labiate (viable). When visiting these flowers with some insects, the larva of the vest is fastened to their outer cover and uses them as a transport that delivers it to the nest of these insects, where the larva of the vest

True masters, on which larvae can perform their usual development, are single bees. However, the larvae of the T-shirts attack honey bees, are firmly held on their chest and abdomen, are carried by bees to the hives, where they cause considerable concern for the bees, but in the bee family they do not find the conditions for their further development.

An adult variegated shirt with a length of 19-33 mm, stands out for its brightly mottled color, consisting of green, blue and purple tones. The thoracic shield is short, the edges are elevated. Elytra dark green, with a reddish tint. Segments of the abdomen in the middle of a purple color.

The larva of the variegated jersey has a length of 3.0-3.8 mm, black, the head is triangular in shape. On the anterior pointed edge of the head there are seven spear-shaped, durable hairs directed forward. Jaws sickle-shaped, with sawing sharp edge. On each side of the head there is one large eye and a tendril consisting of three segments. The front of the body carries three pairs of short extremities ending in three claws. The long articulate abdomen of the larva is provided with four strong and long hairs, spaced from each other at an equal distance.

The larva of the variegated shirt, which falls on the bee, is firmly attached to its outer cover with the help of claws of the extremities and in particular the pointed edge of the head, which it pierces into the articulations between the rings of the belly of the bee, gnaws through the thin inter-segmental membrane and digs into the bee’s body so deep that half more hiding under the bee chitin.

Deepening between the chitinous segments of the bee and destroying the inter-segmental membrane, the larvae of the variegated jersey suck the bee’s hemolymph. Larvae of T-shirts, not having found the necessary conditions in the bee family, perish.

The degree of pathogenicity of the larvae of ordinary T-shirts for bees is weak. Only the mascara is variegated, breaking the cover cloth of the bees and feeding on its hemolymph, causes their death. The number of magpie larvae on one bee varies. Most often, you can meet 1-2 larvae, rarely more. In some cases, from 4 to 100 or more larvae were found on one bee.

Epizootic data. The source of contamination of bees with meleozom is the surrounding land, where bees fly for collecting nectar and pollen.

The course and symptoms of the disease. The disease is usually short-lived, and its development coincides with the emergence of a new generation of larvae variegated T-shirts. It appears in the second half of May and in June, and sometimes in July and August. In the strong families of the affected bees there are more than in the middle and weak. The number of invasive bees reaches from several dozens a day to several thousand. Sometimes the disease is delayed up to 2-3 weeks. Especially the big harm is caused by the larvae of the T-shirts during the defeat of flying bees on the eve of the main honey collection.

Promotes the development of the disease of habitat in the vicinity of the apiary of large quantities of T-shirts and single bees.

The bees, infected by the larvae, returning from the flight, are restless, they have convulsive movements, they fall to the ground, spinning, bouncing, trying to clean their bodies with their paws.

When examining families and in nests, you can find many restless running and spinning bees. In affected bees, larvae of t-shirts can easily be found.

The diagnosis is based on the detection of larvae of the T-shirts on bees and their characteristic anxiety. A close inspection of the sick and dying bees makes it possible to establish the presence on their surface of black or yellow comparatively thin and long insects. They are visible to the naked eye. During examination, the folds between the articulations of the abdominal segments must be carefully examined, where the larvae of the shirts are usually taken.

Prevention. Warn meleoz by the destruction of beetles in the spring. Beetles are large in size and easy to detect; killing only one female, destroy a huge offspring, which can amount to several thousand larvae.

Control measures. They are based on the extermination of the larvae of the T-shirts near the hives and inside the bee colonies.

The treatment of patients with meleosomes is performed by fumigation with tobacco smoke or by treatment with naphthalene.

Fumigation with tobacco smoke. The most toxic for larvae of the T-shirts are the first portions of tobacco (makhorka), poured in the amount of 50 g into the smoke on the hot coals. Smoke causes an instant torpor of the larvae of the T-shirts, which crumble onto the paper spread out on the bottom of the hive.

T-shirts must be immediately collected and destroyed, because 3-5 minutes after fumigating with smoke they again acquire mobility. Smoky with smoke spend in the evening. Pre-honeycomb in the hive is placed wider than usual, so that the smoke is evenly distributed among the bees. The slits in the hive are covered and the flap is cut. Fumigation is repeated for 3-5 days before the end of the death of the bees from the meleosis.

Application of naphthalene. Naphthalene in a dose of 5-10 g is poured onto a sheet of paper, placed evenly closer to the back wall of the hive and kept in a hive until the attacks of the T-shirts for bees cease. If naphthalene is bad for influencing the work of bees or bees will perish from naphthalene, then the dose is reduced and put only for the night. Handling families with mothballs is less time consuming than fumigating with tobacco smoke and efficiency from applying it above. In addition, the beekeepers with the smell of mothballs are less likely to be attacked by T-shirts in the field.

Investigation of bees on invasive diseases. To determine the diagnosis, families are examined and external signs of the disease, the speed of the disease, the effect of the disease on the uterus, adult bees, on the behavior of the latter outside the family and in the hive, changes in their abdomen, hemolymph and intestine. Take into account the season of the year and the characteristic changes in the family, the number of bees, the quantity and quality of honey, peppers, brood, the presence of traces of diarrhea.

When adult bees are killed, bees, crawling and dead bees are collected on the ground and subjected to research on invasive diseases. Bees are carefully inspected in good light with the naked eye and under a magnifying glass for the presence of external ticks, brows and t-shirts. Of external mites, special attention is paid to the presence of tick varroa.

Acarapidosis is examined by the bee’s breast. Dry bees are softened 12-18 hours in 5% caustic alkali. Preliminary remove the head and front of the chest. Then cut from the middle of the breast a ring size of 1-1.5 mm. It is crushed between two panes, the front pair of trachea is found. In the case of acarapidosis, the trachea is dark spots and contains ticks.

For research on nosematosis, leptomonosis, gregarinosis, the middle intestine of the killed bees is triturated on a slide in a drop of water and examined without staining with an average magnification of the microscope in a slightly darkened field.

In the study for amebiasis, the intestine is removed from the bee and lowered into a bath with water. At the same Malpighian vessels become well-visible. They are separated with forceps, transferred to a slide, torn with preparation needles, dried in air, fixed with alcohol ether and dyed according to Gimza-Romanovsky. With amoebiasis on the epithelial cells of malpighian vessels, vegetative forms of amoebae are found.

To detect senotainia, examine the musculature of the bees, where the larvae of this parasite are located. The females of the adult flies of senotainia from June to September sit on the walls and roofs of the hives. They are ashen-gray in color, 6-8 mm in length, with a wide white stripe on the head.

For research on flies-fizocephalus, examine the abdomen of dead or dead bees, where the larvae of this parasite are located.

After the diagnosis is established, measures are taken to combat the established disease and organize the treatment of sick bees.