How do I treat Black Queen Cell?

Black Queen

Black Queen

Black queen cell virus effects the pupae and larva of the queen in colonies and it may also be associated with the spread of the disease Nosema Apis, this virus is classified as a Cripavirus, a virus that doesn’t need to have a normal initiation factor as in the case of other viruses, makes this a highly infectious agent, visual signs of the virus include darkening or yellowing of the larva/pupae of the queen, no smells are associated with the virus as in the case of American foul brood.
The time frame to be looking for this virus is of course during brooding periods for your colonies, so weather and pollen sources are going to play a huge factor in time to observe for this virus, California to the East Coast during the months of March-May are going to be the biggest watch times. In most cases for bee viruses once you can physically notice the virus presence it is too late, so a more preventative approach is needed to avoid this disease.
In a natural hive this can cause the collapse of a colony do to the hive inability to reproduce a viable queen, according to most findings there is no know defense against this disease but due to the ability of Apicare to bind and engulf the viruses’ communication receptor sights, this virus is unable to properly replicate and cause disruption in the colony, Apicare is the only known effective treatment for black queen cell virus.

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