Test your hives for disease

American foulbrood (AFB) is a serious disease of the honeybee. It affects the brood, severely weakening the colony and eventually killing it. It is caused by spores that spread from deadout hives. Spores can also be found on hive components, hive tools, etc.
AFB causes irregular and patchy brood, a 'sunken' and/or 'perforated' appearance to brood cells, and a 'snotty' substance inside the diseased cells. If you have a hive which you suspect is infected with AFB, it is important that you confirm it, as you must report AFB infections to the DPI (the hive will also have to be destroyed). You can learn more about AFB at Bee Aware, here. 

Testing your hive for AFB is easy

To use this AFB test, simply scoop out a suspect larva from a brood frame, shake it up in the bottle, and use the supplied pipette to drop the liquid onto the text cassette. The image shows a negative test. It's very similar to a RAT test. The DPI recommends that beekeepers check their hives for AFB in October and test any hives which show signs of infection. The DPI also maintains an AFB Near Me website which lists postcodes where AFB has been recently detected.
 

What do I do if my hive tests positive?

Please see the AFB section of this DPI website. You will need to euthanise the colony and either burn or irradiate the hive. Having a hive test positive for AFB is stressful, so if you have any questions please contact our friendly staff and we will advise you on the next steps. 

https://www.hornsby-beekeeping.com/american-foulbrood-afb-diagnostic-test-kit/