Response from our bee inspector

Friend Janet forwarded my question about the bees (see yesterday's post) to our bee inspector, Jack Hanel.  Here is his response:  

Hi, Janet, Tracheal mites is a good guess, but we haven’t been seeing them as much of a problem lately.  Nosema and varroa (viruses) sometimes cause the same symptoms.  The best thing to do is send a sample to:  Bee Disease Diagnosis

      Bee Research Laboratory    

      Bldg. 476 Room 20

      Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-East

      Beltsville , Md. 20705

To prepare the sample, collect about 100 of the sick bees in rubbing alcohol.  Let them soak overnight.  Drain off the alcohol.  Put them in a ziplok bag.  Put the bag in a small cardboard box so the samples won’t get crushed.  Put your name and address in the box so they know where to send the results to, and a brief description of the problem.  Jack