Bee diseases diagnosis help

The following page is intended to provide you with a quick assessment of the condition of your bee colony with the help of photos. In addition, you will find more detailed information on individual pests, as well as pictures of characteristic symptoms and features of bee diseases, parasites and pests, as well as various damage patterns on the honeycomb stock and the hives.

By clicking on the selected term, a photo gallery and further information will appear.

We will be happy to assist you with our knowledge and expertise. You can find more information on sample submission here.

Dead people

In this gallery you will find a picture overview of possible causes for the death of bee colonies.

A common cause of die-off is damage caused by the varroa mite. For more information on the varroa mite, click here.

Totes Wintervolk / Vorroaschaden — Dead winter colony - Varroa damage

Robbery

In this gallery you will find a picture overview of possible signs of predation.

Wabe / ausgeraubtes Volk — Predation - Ruptured honey cells are a typical sign of predation.

Brood combs

In this gallery you will find a picture overview of pests that can occur in the brood combs.

Two such pests are the American foulbrood and the sacbrood virus. You can find more information here (American foulbrood) and here (sacbrood).

AGES — Varroosis - Heavy varroa infestation, in combination with viruses, leads to damaged brood stages. Here the signs are patchy brood pattern and holey cell covers.

Brutwabe / Gesundes Volk — For comparison first: healthy bee brood -. Typical features: Brood area closed; uncovered cells occupied by eggs or round maggots; covered cells with raised lids without holes or discoloration; cells are occupied by stretch maggots, prepupae, pupae or hatchling young bees of healthy appearance without foreign odor.

Bienenstock — Bee brood with suspected disease -. Signs of disease: Brood surface patchy; cell cover discolored, sunken, holey; cell contents decomposed, stringy, hardened, scabs, maggot, pupa, bee remains in brood cells; altered comb odor. A precise control is necessary here!

Sackbrut — Bag brood - brood nest patchy, cell covers may be holey, dead, discolored bee maggot in cell with discernible body segmentation and slightly bent anterior end.

Contents of brood cells/larvae and pupae

In this gallery you will find a picture overview of pests that can occur in the contents of the brood cells or on the larvae and pupae.

Fadenziehen — If symptoms such as decomposed cell contents or threadbare, sessile scabs are observed, American foulbrood is suspected.

Bienen

In this gallery you will find a picture overview of disease patterns on the bee.

Flügelkrüppelbiene — Infestation with the Deformed Wing Virus (DWV)

Manure

In this gallery you will find an overview of images of abnormalities in the mixture and possible causes.

Gemuellebienen — Varroa mites in the manure

Große Wachsmottenarve — Larvae of wax moths live on honeycombs, in comb stores and in wax muck on the bottom board of the hive, leaving a characteristic web and droppings crumbs.

Honeycomb stock

In this gallery you will find a picture overview of pests that can occur in the honeycomb stock.

Frassgänge / Wachslaibe — Wax loaf with wax moth infestation - Here, larval galleries of the small wax moth can be seen on the underside of poorly cleaned wax loaves. This area often still contains pollen remains, which are preferentially utilized by the moth larvae.

Wachsmotten / Bienen festgesponnen — Small wax moth - In case of very severe infestation, the honeycombs can also be completely destroyed by the small wax moth. The bee pupae are spun at the bottom of the brood cell and the young bees can no longer hatch.

Wachsmotte Falter — The large wax moth (Galleria mellonella) can completely destroy storage combs and food combs in a short time in warm conditions. This also applies to the comb of dead colonies that was not cleared away in time. Depending on the stage of infestation, characteristic spidery nests or honeycombs that have been spun together, the large wax moth larvae ("rank maggots") and white pupal cocoons can be found. These are often found in pupal cradles gnawed from the wood. When wax moth infestation is severe, a characteristic odor is noticeable in the storeroom.

Wachsmotte Groß — Great wax moth - Dense webs are typical for an infestation of honeycombs with larvae of the great wax moth. Since the eggs are partly laid on the combs already in the hive, honeycombs that are not rapidly centrifuged are also at risk.

Kleine Wachsmotte — Adult small wax moth - The larvae of the small wax moth (Achroia grisella) eat individual tunnels through the combs. In the process, tunnels lined with webs are formed. The underside of poorly cleaned wax blocks can also be eaten by the climbing maggots.

Kahlbrut — If the larvae of the small wax moth mine in the area of the center wall of brood combs, the brood is often lifted up somewhat. The so-called "tube brood" is then formed, which usually runs in the form of tunnels. If the cell covers of these galleries are removed, a rank maggot is usually found underneath. If the bees remove the cell covers above the galleries, the image of "bare brood" is formed.

Insects in the bee colony

Various beetles and their larvae can be present in the hive. Some, like the small hive beetle, can cause severe damage. Others are harmless and only remove the debris and dead bees at the bottom of the hive.

See this image gallery for a small selection.

More information about the small hive beetle can be found here, and you can learn more about the bacon beetle here.

Totenkopfschwärmer — Death's-head hawkmoths - they sometimes enter the colonies as honey thieves and suck the honey directly from the combs. Otherwise, they do not cause any further damage.

Bee beetles - There are also some species (e.g. bee beetles or Trichodes apiarius) whose larvae live predatorily in nests of wild bees or in hives of European honey bees.

We hope this small overview could help you to keep your bees healthy. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.

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Bee diseases diagnosis help

Dead people

Robbery

Brood combs

Contents of brood cells/larvae and pupae

Bienen

Manure

Honeycomb stock

Insects in the bee colony

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