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Nosema ceranae

Sick Bees – Part 14: An Update on the “Nosema Cousins”

Contents Worldwide Status and Distribution Ceranae vs. apis Coinfection Seasonality Sample Interpretation What if You’re Dealing with N. apis? Seasonality Recommendations Acknowledgements References Sick Bees 14: An Update on the “Nosema Cousins” First published in ABJ December 2011 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In my last article, I described how to quickly sample for nosema.  So what...

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Sick Bees – Part 15: An Improved Method for Nosema Sampling

Author’s Note Samples from Within the Hive Soundbite Science Infection Rate So How Did We Get on the Wrong Track? How to Determine the Colony Infection Rate So What if I Count the Number of Infected Bees out of 10? An Assessment of Our Situation One HUGE Assumption Validation of the Method Update Sequential Sampling...

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Sick Bees – Part 16: The “Quick Squash” Method for Determining Nosema Prevalence in a Colony

Infection Prevalence Sequential Sampling A Neat Little Shortcut Validation Summary (completely subject to revision) More Details Next Month Acknowledgements References 2019 Quick Nosema Prevalence Assessment Method First published in ABJ February 2012 Updated March 13, 2019 Randy Oliver Since the discovery of Nosema ceranae, I and many other beekeepers and researchers have been frustrated by...

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Sick Bees 17A: Nosema – The Smoldering Epidemic (Part 1)

Sick Bees 17a: Nosema—the Smoldering Epidemic (Part 1) Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ in March 2011   The “Invisible” Infection Something Changed This Decade Historical Prevalence of Nosema Was Nosema ceranae a Game Changer? References The latest National Honey Bee Diseases Survey found that as many as seven out of ten U.S. colonies...

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Sick Bees – Part 17b: Nosema – The Smoldering Epidemic

Sick Bees 17: Nosema The Smoldering Epidemic Part B First published in ABJ April 2012 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   The Scientific Method Effect of the Invasion Why Would Nosema ceranae Not Cause Problems? Understanding Nosema Understanding the Honey Bee Superorganism Energy and Protein Metabolism References You may have noticed that I’m doing a sort of...

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Sick Bees Part 17B: Nosema – The Smoldering Epidemic (Part 2)

The Scientific Method Effect of the Invasion Why Would Nosema ceranae Not Cause Problems? Understanding Nosema Understanding the Honey Bee Superorganism Nosema and Energy Metabolism Nosema and Protein Metabolism References Sick Bees 17B: Nosema—the Smoldering Epidemic (Part 2) First published in ABJ April 2012 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com You may have noticed that I’m doing a...

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“Fried Eggs” Identified!

“Fried Eggs” Identified! Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in Feb 2012 I mentioned in my previous article that I’ve been seeing an unidentified organism that looked like “fried eggs”  in the guts of bees from my operation in the California foothills (Figure 1).  I sent out requests to a number of researchers for...

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The Seasonality of Nosema Ceranae

The Seasonality of Nosema Ceranae Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in April 2015 Nosema apis has long been known to cause disease primarily during winter and spring. Many misinterpreted Dr. Mariano Higes’ finding that one could detect spores of N. ceranae throughout the year [1] as indicating that infection was no longer seasonal....

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Nosema and dysentery Part 1

It’s “Common Knowledge” that Nosema Causes Dysentery… But is it actually true? Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Yesterday I inspected a group of 40 hives returning from almond pollination. All were strong and healthy, other than two unusual deadouts, which no longer had any bees on the combs, and only a scattering of a few dead workers...

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The Nosema Problem: Part 1 – It’s “Common Knowledge” that Nosema Causes Dysentery… But is it Actually True?

Contents What is dysentery?. 4 So why does everyone think that nosema causes dysentery?. 7 The sad part. 7 Nosema apparently does not cause dysentery. 7 next. 9 citations and notes. 9   The Nosema Problem: Part 1 It’s “Common Knowledge” that Nosema Causes Dysentery… But is it Actually True? First published in ABJ May...

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The Nosema Problem: Part 2 – The Enigma of Nosema

Contents The invasion of Nosema Ceranae. 2 How did ceranae get into the U.S.?. 5 Signs of nosema infection. 5 A key finding. 8 Next. 9 citations and notes. 9   The Nosema Problem: Part 2 The Enigma of Nosema Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2019 I’ve recently read Raquel Martin-Hernandez’s excellent...

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The Nosema Problem: Part 3 – Seasonality and Effects of Nosema

Contents Requisites for nosema to gain a foothold. 2 The importance of pollen to Nosema transmission and reproduction. 4 The connection between nosema and dysentery. 6 putting it all together. 7 Coming. 8 citations and notes. 8   The Nosema Problem: Part 3 Seasonality and Effects of Nosema Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ...

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The Nosema Problem: Part 4 – Nosemosis

Contents Effects of nosema upon an individual bee. 1 Effects of nosema upon the colony. 2 Colonies can fight back. 2 Nosema and almond pollination. 4 Nosema and the queen. 7 How concerned should you be about nosema?. 8 The take-home message. 10 Coming. 11 citations and notes. 12   . The Nosema Problem: Part...

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The Nosema Problem: Part 6 – Treatment

Contents First a return to queens. 1 Treatments for nosema. 2 fumagillin. 3 Alternative treatments. 3 What else is on the market?. 6 Nozevit®. 6 Hive alive®. 9 Acids in syrup. 9 Possibilities on the radar. 9 What if you don’t want to treat?. 9 citations and notes. 10   The Nosema Problem: Part 6...

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The Nosema Problem: Part 7a – The Causes of Dysentery in Honey Bees — Part 1

Contents Why would a colony exhibit signs of dysentery?. 3 honeydew.. 4 Microbial dysbiosis or parastism.. 5 The link between pollen and nosema. 7 How about those “winter bees”?. 8 Literature cited. 10     The Nosema Problem: Part 7a The Causes of Dysentery in Honey Bees Part 1 First published in ABJ December 2019 Randy...

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