# When do SHB stop laying eggs?



## BlueRidgeBees (Jul 5, 2016)

I think i read somewhere that SHB stop reproducing in the fall or winter but am having trouble finding where I read that at. I had an issue with them but installed traps and also have the trays under the screened bottom boards to help but was hoping they will slow down when its cold and I'm not able to get into the hive to check.


----------



## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

A speaker at one of our state meetings made the statement that beetle activity stopped at temps below 76 degrees. I would think egg laying would not continue if the larvae would have little chance to successfully go to ground to pupate. The adults live inside the bee cluster all winter, but I don't think they continue to mate and lay eggs.


----------



## BlueRidgeBees (Jul 5, 2016)

Ok that's kind of what I remembered reading. So far the Beetle Blaster traps haven't worked great for me. The first inspection 2 weeks after installing them only had one or two in each and i had a lot of beetles at the time.


----------



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

AR Beekeeper said:


> The adults live inside the bee cluster all winter, but I don't think they continue to mate and lay eggs.


Are these overwintered beetles capable of breeding once spring comes? Or, are the SHB pupae, wintering in the soil (do they overwinter in the soil?) the beginnings of the next generations? SHB can't pupate here...the last round of pupae...because the ground freezes for long periods.

I've seen SHB come from a wintering cluster, very early spring. Never saw another in that apiary, all summer. I always thought that perhaps the old beetles can no longer reproduce. I never see SHB unless someone locates bees near me, that are infested. They just don't winter here.


----------



## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

When I said I thought they did not continue to mate and lay eggs while in the winter cluster, I was making a guess. I can find little information about SHB that gives me much help determining what the proper conditions are for them start to mate and lay in the spring, if the overwintered adult females must mate again to lay viable eggs, if the pupae overwinter in the ground, or it they all emerge before the ground freezes in the fall and overwinter in the hives.

Beetle populations in my hives increase in numbers each year. My colonies are stronger in adult bees this fall than they have ever been, and the beetles are much, much more numerous in the hives than in years past. I have lost no colonies this year to the beetles, but they have caused me to combine my nucs into stronger units for winter. I am starting to worry that strong colonies in full sun may not be able to control them.


----------



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

AR Beekeeper said:


> When I said I thought they did not continue to mate and lay eggs while in the winter cluster, I was making a guess.


As was I. I'd like to know.


----------



## scituatema (Aug 30, 2014)

Once in late January, I saw tens of small hive beetle larvae in protein patty in a nicely brooding colony. I guess so long as temperature is right and they have food, they can restart multiplying. 
I am in zone 6a/b


----------



## Dave1958 (Mar 25, 2013)

Last year I had numerous SHB, and I've lost a couple of mating nucs and one hive had beetles after being robbed out. This year I didn't feed any pollen patties, and have had much fewer SMB. I'm going to place some boric acid next week in some cd cases to see if I can reduce the number of adults trying to over winter so when buildup in spring occurs I'm hoping to have less issues next year


----------



## ericweller (Jan 10, 2013)

BlueRidgeBees said:


> Ok that's kind of what I remembered reading. So far the Beetle Blaster traps haven't worked great for me. The first inspection 2 weeks after installing them only had one or two in each and i had a lot of beetles at the time.


Where are you placing the beetle blaster? They need to be close as possible to the sides of the box and not in the middle of a frame. Also, if you have 2 brood boxes, the blasters need to be on the frames of the bottom box and not the top box. I also use 2 blasters per hive and this year caught hundreds but it still wasn't enough to keep a queenless hive from getting overrun. I was emptying them once per week.


----------



## BlueRidgeBees (Jul 5, 2016)

I place them as close to the edges as possible. In between the last two frames and i was putting 2 in each brood box and 1 in the honey supers. I've even seen some beetles crawl in and come right back out which they claim isn't possible.


----------



## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

I don't know the answer to your question, but can suggest putting diatomaceous earth under the hive. Since a strong hive can herd adult beatles, I tried going after larve. Two years ago I used it and then didn't this spring. Shb numbers got high this year. I added d.e. under the hive again and better numbers quickly dropped. It also keeps ants away. I've used it in my yard for years as a flea and ant treatment. Occasionally, I sprinkle some on the Sandy areas my chicken take a dust bath in to handle mites.


----------



## tnmtn (May 27, 2016)

Jadeguppy said:


> I don't know the answer to your question, but can suggest putting diatomaceous earth under the hive. Since a strong hive can herd adult beatles, I tried going after larve. Two years ago I used it and then didn't this spring. Shb numbers got high this year. I added d.e. under the hive again and better numbers quickly dropped. It also keeps ants away. I've used it in my yard for years as a flea and ant treatment. Occasionally, I sprinkle some on the Sandy areas my chicken take a dust bath in to handle mites.


Do you just sprinkle the DE under the hive in the grass? Is there a season when it is most effective? I've got a big bag of it in the shed.


----------



## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

I have sand, but yes. Sprinkle a good amount under the hive an a bit of the surrounding area.


----------



## BlueRidgeBees (Jul 5, 2016)

I'll try this. Does it hurt the bees if they end up on the ground with it? Don't normally have many down there but just wanted to check first.


----------



## thesecurityeagle (Jun 21, 2016)

I am not a expert on SHB lifecycle. Dr. Jaime Ellis is. I recommend writing him for a more precise answer. Here is where it is in my little brain.... SHBs over winter in your colonies in warmer climates. They successfully are fed by the bees from the "Beetle jails" the bees herd them into. They do this by rubbing the mandible of the workers who recognize this and fed them willingly. In colder climates, I am pretty certain they "die out" as a result of failure to reproduce due to hardy winters and short windows available for reproduction. For the beekeeper who has them in perpetuity (That's us down here in the south) a strong hive is the best defense. That's not to say you will not have them, the beetles are simply being managed by the bees. SHB are particularly drawn to colonies that are under stress (alarm pheromone, etc signal the weakness to SHBs). The vast majority of the beetles in the south are now headed to pupate in the ground over winter. My strategy this year is two fold. 1. Use a Gardstar ground drench around the hives now to kill the beetle larvae in the ground. 2. Use DE after the ground dries through out the winter and into the spring after each rain. (Never use these products in the hive. Both guard star and DE will kill bees). I limit pollen patties in the hive to small pieces directly on the frames of the active brood nest. Never on top of the honey super. I like to see the bees discard the parchment paper out the front of the hive in two days. Smaller colonies get smaller amounts. As well, beetle blasters and swiffer sheets on every box are good at keeping the populations down well into the summer. And as always, give everyone you ever see the hive tool test.


----------



## thesecurityeagle (Jun 21, 2016)

For the southern beekeeper, I will be trialing a window screen mesh on bottom boards and inner covers this coming spring. We suspect the SHB get in via the open #8 mess on the bottom boards and inner covers.


----------



## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

I use DE on the solid IPM board under the screened bottom. Needs to be "bee tight" so they are not rolling around in it. I'm in Smithfield, VA and I catch SHB all year long in the DE as long as I keep it fresh in there.

Here is a link to a video I did on it. https://www.facebook.com/topbarbeehive/videos/1756058667753989/


----------



## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

Eagle; The window screen will clog with debris cleaned out of the cells, cappings removed from cells, and with dropped pollen. The beetles have no trouble entering through the hive entrance.

The reason I know it won't work is because I tried the window screen on the bottom board a few years ago, I also have screened hive stands that doesn't allow anything to enter from the bottom of the colony and I have more beetles in the hives this year than I ever have had.

I still don't know what temperature beetles stop laying eggs, but when the temps are in the high 60s they can still crawl, but they are very sluggish.


----------

