Nosema
A million spores is the number they named
Nosema does not wave from the landing board. Infected bees look hungry. Colonies can look fine until they are not. UF already wrote how to count. The calendar already said feed. This page is those two papers, not a drug list.
The Bee Informed Partnership diagnostic services team recommends that beekeepers be concerned when their colonies exceed 1 million spores per bee.
What the Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar actually says
On the Central Florida table, September through December names Nosema as a problem when bees are stressed and stores are thin. The fix on that row is feed if light. Making sure colonies are well fed will reduce Nosema spore counts. One million spores per bee is considered a high spore count. The Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar repeats that number. January on the same table points at How to Quantify Nosema Spores for how to quantify. Some keepers also treat with fumagilin. The calendar says follow the label, and that effectiveness varies. This journal does not pick a bottle.
Nutrition and Nosema sit on the same month. A light colony in a Florida September is already on the feed page. Pollen is a separate job on The Benefits of Pollen to Honey Bees. A pollen patty when The Benefits of Pollen to Honey Bees is the protein paper, not because a shop card looked hungry. Get this. A small jar for the How to Quantify Nosema Spores sample. Alcohol in the jar, about a quarter cup of bees from a frame with open brood, queen left on the comb. Get this.
The count, in plain steps
How to Quantify Nosema Spores is a lab method written for keepers. Crush 100 workers in 100 ml of water. Load a hemocytometer. Count spores in five blocks at 400 times. Convert with the paper's formula. Clubs sometimes share the microscope. The paper says a compound microscope can be cost prohibitive for one person. Do not invent a shortcut count from a flashlight.
The same paper is honest about the number. Spore load can move with diet. Higher counts do not always mean the colony dies. The 1 million line is still the concern threshold BIP named, and the Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar copied it. Count, then read the label, the way Varroa wants 3 mites per 100 bees before you treat.
Can I skip the count if the bees look hungry?
Hunger is a clue, not a number. How to Quantify Nosema Spores wants a count. Feed if the box is light anyway. That job is already on the calendar.
Which fumagilin product?
Not on this page. The Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar says follow the label, and that results vary. Recheck spore counts two to three weeks after a treatment if you use one.
Sources
- How to Quantify Nosema Spores. Sample, hemocytometer, 1 million spores per bee.
- Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar. Central Florida fall: feed, Nosema, mites.
- The Benefits of Pollen to Honey Bees. Nutrition paper the calendar points at.