Anyone know how long virus & spores are active on comb from a dead out. I am mostly interested in black queen cell virus, DWV & Nosema Ceranae. I lost one hive that had a basket ball size cluster the end of dec. today it had about 100 bees and a queen. No dead bees anywhere else in the hive. The USDA took samples in sept and found above pest.
Viruses usually require a host to live in. Nosema, on the other hand, is a spore forming fungus, and the spores are more long lived. However, I think the danger varies a lot by location. It's never been an issue where I live. I never worry about it.
I found some info regarding this on the OSU extension. It talks about many bees diseases.
This might be worth a look for you.
http://www.extension.org/pages/27064/nosema-ceranae-the-inside-story (http://www.extension.org/pages/27064/nosema-ceranae-the-inside-story)
If you read down far enough you will find some info on how long it last as spores and possible methods to get rid of spores.
This second link is from MAAREC it has loads of info with pictures of symtoms of disceases.
https://agdev.anr.udel.edu/maarec/honey-bee-biology/honey-bee-parasites-pests-predators-and-diseases/ (https://agdev.anr.udel.edu/maarec/honey-bee-biology/honey-bee-parasites-pests-predators-and-diseases/)
Just a little info that might help out and put your mind to rest.
Joe
Michael what you said about Nosema is similar to Randy Oliver's site. He thinks Nosema is temperature sensitive to hot & cold. I didn't think Nosema apis was a high threat to my bees but the new Ceranae has me thinking about not uslng combs from dead outs. thank you for your input.
Joe thank you sooooo much for the info. I didn't realise we had so many viruses that were spread by Nosema & Verroa. I belive old comb removal is more important than ever.