APIS Volume 10, Number 2, February 1992
In this issue
- Lyme Disease and the Beekeeper
- Pollen Substitute/Supplement--Recipes
LYME DISEASE
The maples are blooming in north Florida and soon the bee season will be in full swing. Besides bees, other arthropods will also become active, including ticks, which transmit Lyme disease. Lyme disease was identified in 1975, after a high frequency of arthritis was found in three adjacent communities in Connecticut: Old Lyme, Lyme and East Hadden. It also is distributed in Europe, Asia, Australia, Japan and China. The disease has been expanding its range in the United States and has been identified in many western states and along much of the Atlantic seaboard.
Outbreaks of Lyme disease are rare, but increasing, in Florida. Some 43 cases were diagnosed in 1989 and it is reported officially endemic in four counties (Hillsborough, Orange, Santa Rosa and Volusia). Alachua county also has documented cases. Most experts are predicting more cases of the disease will appear. Although anyone outdoors can catch it, beekeepers are considered prime candidates because they often work in areas where ticks are prevalent.
The organism causing Lyme disease is the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, associated with various species of ticks. There is controversy concerning the role of species carrying this spirochete and the specific tick responsible for cases in Florida has yet to be identified. It was first found associated with species of the hard tick in the genus Ixodes. The potential species that experimentally transmit the disease or harbor the spirochete, however, are large in number. It has also been found in deer and horse flies, as well as mosquitoes. Unfortunately, most of these host organisms are found for extended seasonal periods in Florida.
There are several main reservoirs of Lyme disease in nature. The white- tailed deer and white-footed mouse are primary hosts. Other mammals which may harbor the disease are chipmunks, raccoons, rabbits, horses, cows and dogs. Again, the specific animals responsible for maintaining the disease as endemic in Florida have not been established.
A major problem with Lyme disease is difficulty in diagnosis. Because it is such a new disease, many physicians may not yet be familiar with the symptoms, which are not clear cut and can be delayed. In addition, symptoms can mimic other conditions or worse, not be present at all in the early stages of the disease. The makes it incumbent on the victim to recognize tick bites, and bring to the attention of physicians the link between symptoms and tick bites.
Typically, there are several phases of Lyme disease. The first symptom may be erythema chronicum migrans (ECM), an enlarged ring of redness surrounding a central puncture, the site of the tick bite. It usually disappears after four weeks, but can last for months. Although most commonly circular, the rash can be other shapes, including S-shaped. It usually does not itch, but may feel warm to the touch and is often followed within a week or two by flu-like symptoms including muscle and joint aches, fever and night sweats. Several weeks to months later, the second phase of the disease occurs in about 60 percent of cases and usually consists of joint pain (commonly in the knees), but also may involve neurological disturbances: headaches, meningitis, paralysis of facial muscles. Heart problems, dizziness and fainting may occur in some patients. The final and most serious stages may be observed several months to years after the initial tick bite. These include arthritis, intellectual deterioration or psychiatric disease. If any of the above symptoms appear, a test is in order. Unfortunately, diagnostic tests are not 100 percent accurate. Antibodies in the blood do not appear in quantity until four to six weeks after being bitten. Antibiotics taken by the patient will also interfere with diagnosis. New tests are being developed, however, to test urine or spinal fluid for confirmation of Lyme disease.
The best course of action in the fight against Lyme disease is controlling tick populations and protecting oneself against bites. Areas inhabited by deer (prime sources of mites) are to be avoided. Clothing should be buttoned and as little bare skin exposed as possible while working bees. Never sit on the ground in bushy areas and keep brush cleared and burned in well-travelled areas. After prolonged periods outdoors, carefully examine your body for ticks. Ticks embedded in the skin should be gently removed by using tweezers as close to the mouth, where they are attached, as possible. It is better to remove a small amount of skin near the attachment than to break off the tick, leaving its mouthparts still attached to the skin. The latter can result in secondary infection and prolonged possibility of transmitting the spirochete.
Standard insect repellents can protect exposed skin, but ticks will often crawl to untreated areas. Ticks are seasonal and using chemical control to kill populations is difficult, requiring expertise for each possible species present. It is not recommended for the amateur. For more detailed information on Lyme disease, see "Tick (Acari: Ixodidae) Vectors of Lyme Disease Organisms (Borrelia burgdorferi) in Florida," by J.F. Butler and H.A. Denmark, Entomology Circular No. 326, Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry, January, 1990. Copies are available from Mr. Harold Denmark, P.O. Box 147100, Gainesville, FL 32614-7100, ph 904/3723505, Ext. 186.
POLLEN SUBSTITUTE/SUPPLEMENT--RECIPES
As the active bee season approaches, many beekeepers will begin to feed bees to stimulate their population growth. The traditional food is sugar syrup or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). I have written before in this newsletter that beekeepers should not neglect the protein side of nutrition when feeding honey bees. The value of a "total" nutritional approach was recently called to my attention by an article in the October, 1991 issue of Florida Grower and Rancher, called "Effective Nutrition Uppermost."
This article states, "Effective nutrition management may yield a greater return to livestock producers ...than any other aspect of a total herd health program," according to the American Veterinar Medical Association (AVMA). Livestock producers have long recognized energy and protein needs as critical nutrition factors, the article contends, but veterinarians today are focusing on nutrient content as well to minimize disease problems, improve body condition and increase weight gains.
Dr. T. Noffsinger, D.V.M. is quoted as saying, "As veterinarians, we try to bolster the immune system to protect animals from respiratory illnesses...without proper nutrition, the immune system is not effective in protecting against these diseases." Part of this is the importance of trace minerals in the diet, including zinc, iron, selenium and copper, all necessary to combat potential virus infections.
A nutritionally balanced diet is also important in preventing stress from taking huge tolls on livestock. It is the single most important economic factor affecting profitability, according to J.E. Sears, D.V.M. He concluded: "If you cut back on nutrition in cutting costs...increase in disease problems will cost livestock producers a lot more in the long run."
Is it too much of a leap of faith for the beekeeper to take these thoughts to heart? I don't think so. Bees may not be mammals, but they are nevertheless livestock and their nutritional management is just as critical. The beekeeper is at somewhat of a disadvantage because less is known about how to manage the protein, mineral and trace elements in the bees' diet (see April 1987, October 1988, July 1990 has two articles, May 1991 and April 1995 (in conjunction with queen rearing) issues of APIS.
The classic method used by beekeepers to feed protein is pollen supplement, an artificial diet with some percentage of pollen added. The pollen stimulates the bees to consume the diet. A substitute is a totally artificial diet. Commercially prepared supplements/substitutes are available from bee supply houses. It is also possible to make an artificial diet using expeller processed (not solvent extracted) soybean flour with fat content of 5-7 percent (higher fat content is toxic to bees), brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces sp.), Wheast (R) or whey yeast (Saccharomyces fragilis), and torula yeast (Candida utilis). The following diets have been tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture bee laboratories in Tucson, AZ; Madison, WI; and Beltsville, MD.
Protein Source Parts by weight
Dry Mix Patty
Supplement Formula #1
Soybean flour:pollen (3:1 weight/weight) 1
Sugar:water (2:1 weight/weight) 2
Supplement Formula #2
Wheast (R) or brewer's yeast:pollen (3:1
weight/weight) 1
Sugar:water (6:1 weight/weight) 2
Substitute Formula #1
Brewer's yeast 2 3
Sugar 3 3
Water (to make a dough-like consistency) 2.5
Substitute Formula #2
Soybean flour 2 3
Sugar 3 3
Water (to make a dough-like consistency) 2.5
Substitute Formula #3
Wheast (R) 3
Sugar 3
Water (to make a dough-like consistency) 4Source: L.N. Standifer, F.E. Moeller, N.M. Kauffeld, E.W. Herbert, Jr. and H. Shimanuki. Supplemental Feeding of Honey Bee Colonies, Ag. Information Bull. No. 413, June, 1978.
Supplements with pollen added will almost invariably be better accepted by bees. Diets can be fed as a dry mix or in patty form. Never feed pollen from an unknown source; it can be a vector for most brood diseases.
Pollen pellets should first be dissolved in water (one-third gallon of water/pound of pellets). Sugar is then stirred in followed by the soybean flour, Wheast (R), brewer's or torula yeast. Finally for patties, water is added to make a dough-like consistency. It will take some experimenting to adjust the water based on environmental conditions. Cakes of diet of about a pound and a half are wrapped in wax paper to retard drying and placed on top of the brood nest. Cakes should be replaced before the previous one is consumed; about every week or 10 days. It is important that once colonies are fed, they continue to be fed until abundant pollen is found in the field.
A substitute has been developed using both yeast and lactalbumin. This is commercially available as the Beltsville Bee Diet (R). It is named for the laboratory that developed and tested the diet. Results using this commercial preparation are mixed, depending on beekeeping region. This is the case for other commercial preparations as well, the reason that supplements are usually preferred by beekeepers.
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~entweb/apis/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1992 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
