The effectiveness of prophylactic sterilisation of beehive materials by gamma radiation

Abstract

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies hived in beehive materials that had been sterilised by gamma irradiation had an average weight gain of 29.3 kg while those housed in untreated hives had an average gain of 27.1 kg.Bees sampled from both the treated and untreated colonies were examined for the presence of Nosema apis and virus, causitive organisms of stress related diseases, at the end of the season. No significant differences were found. The slight increase in weight (2.2 kg) of the sterilised colonies was not sufficient to justify the cost of prophylactic sterilisation of beehive equipment.