Here is the full report on our test: On July 1 1999 an experiment was begun to test the idea for use of colloidal silver solution in the treatment of Mites in Honey Bee colonies.
July 1 Feed healthy observation hive silver solution at agreed measurement of 1 cup to 1 gal ( liquid measurement ). Use of healthy hive will determine possible toxicity to the bees themselves. 3:00 am - Confined bees to hive for initial feeding, Noted healthy laying queen, 1 solid frame of brood, 1 partial frame, 1 empty super frame. All frames covered with bees. No disease noted, no mites noted. 12:00 pm - Prepared 1 quart of solution and began feeding. 6:00 pm - Hive has taken aprox 1/4 quart jar. Outlying cells in the upper brood frame are being filled with solution. Conditions normal. 6:30 pm - Noted queen laying normally. 9:15 pm - Wax drawing in progress in the upper brood frame, to increase storage area. Bees on frame in " sweating posture " creating wax. July 2 1999 11:00 am - Hive remains healthy. Aprox 1/2 quart of the solution has now been taken in. Activity normal , Workers looking for a way out to forage. Will confine them for 24 more hours, by then almost all food within hive will be solution since there was only a little honey stored to begin with. 10:17 pm - Bottom of hive found to be clogged with dead bees. Have no choice but to return them outside and open hive, will obtain bees for disection. 10:30 pm - Beginning disection by standard method used in Nosema detection. 10:50 pm - Disection is proving very difficult, results are the same with euthanized bees recovered from hive as with bead bees. The abdomen of the bee is greatly swollen, attempts to remove the gut in the usual manner is impossible. By slightly tearing the outer carapace it is possible to remove the gut. Examination reveals the rectum to be greatly distended and filling most of the abdomen ( almost like bees confined for a long period in the winter ) The contents of the rectum are dark grey to black, ( 1 out of 30 contained a yellowish color feces ). Vent. appears normal ; light grey to brown and not distended. Outwardly the bees appear normal, death does not appear to be caused by " old age ". July 3 1999 8:15 am - What remains this morning of 3 solid frames of bees appears to be 600 - 800 bees covering the brood as best as possible. Removed aprox 1 level pint of dead bees from interior bottom of hive, remaining adult workers on exterior of hive, move very little and 10 were actually observed to fall off onto the ground. They do not attempt flight. Total uptake of solution : 1/2 quart , suspected leakage of 1/4 ounce possibly. Removed solution jar at this time. July 4 1999 No further massive deaths. July 5 1999 Will leave the hive to itself until the 11th. A week should be long enough to see if it will begin to recover. July 11 1999 7:00 am Found ground in front of hive covered with dead bees. Inspection of hive revealed all brood rearing to have stopped. All honey stores are gone and many bees are found dead " head in " the cells as can be found in starvation cases in winter. All brood that was being fed a week ago is gone. The queen is alive and the bees appear to be surviving on buckwheat nectar from the field nearby. Only 1 frame of bees remain. No attempt on the queens part to lay( probably due to lack of stores). Summation Although the initial idea of using the silver solution seemed sound, the Honey Bee is after all an insect and the solution has had the same effect on them as was hoped for in the mite, Starvation. The bees simply gorged themselves to death, no matter how much they ate they still starved. -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
