For many aspects of beekeeping it is rewarding to have access to two types of microscope :-
A low power instrument is useful for looking at anatomical structures in detail
A high power instrument is useful for looking at pollen grains and disease organisms
Below is a series of increasing magnification of a longitudinal histological section of a worker bee
note the blocks of flight muscle in the thorax of the second image and the ommatidia in the final image
Microscopic testing for Nosema spores
Nosema is an enteric pathogen that infects the gut of adult bees and prevents the digestion of pollen. This video shows the mechanics of preparing a gut sample for examining for the nosema spores. The recommended number of bees to sample is 30 and it is not necessary to use a specialised haemocytometer counting chamber as suggested in the video – a microscope slide and coverslip is quite adequate.
The image to the right shows a heavily infected colony and should be treated otherwise it will die out.
