# Small hive beetle



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

in the south, it's common to see a beetle or two in the hive almost every time. best defense is a strong hive, with hygenic bees, no more space than the bees can take care of, and placed where the hive gets sun most of the day. i keep beetle traps in all my hives, currently using the disposable ones. i also kill any beetle i can, with the hive tool or a pair of tweezers.


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## Jpoindexter (Oct 22, 2010)

There are a million hive traps out there - but the best thing you can do to keep them from ruining a hive is to keep your hives in full sun. The bees can handle the heat, the beetles cant. Weak hives cannot survive in the shade here in South East Texas. Strong hives may survive the beetles in the shade, but they'll be fighting them every evening when the beetles start coming in. 

-Jay


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## New Ky Beekeeper (Jun 27, 2011)

Why does leaving the hive in the sun help control small hive beetle?


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## chevydmax04 (May 11, 2009)

my hives had full sun all summer, however now we are coming into winter and I do not want these things wreacking havoc all winter long in there. I will be putting Mite Away + strips in tomorrow afternoon, and I ordered a bunch of beetle traps from Dadant. I also will be opening that hive up for a full inspection to check for larve. 

After doing some reading I am finding that the hive beetle leaves the hive to lay eggs in the ground outside the hive, is this true? and if so how are they getting back in since my hives are elevated 12 inches above the ground.


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## chevydmax04 (May 11, 2009)

NYBEEKEEPER--- I purchased a bee suit for granddaughter the other day from Dadant, had her down there today for her first hive visit, we pulled honey supers today. She is just 2 years old and she loved it! once she got her first taste of honey I could not keep her fingers out of the frames! LOL


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

In my seriously limited experience, I have deduced that shb FLY into the hive, lay eggs in the hive, the larva tear up the wax, then they drop to the ground to pupate into adult beetles. Someone with more experience please correct me if I am wrong. 

Gypsi


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## chevydmax04 (May 11, 2009)

So Gypsi, I think that you are correct, and if that is the case are or are we not going about killing them off in the wrong manner, why are we trapping only the adult beetles, why are we not also trapping the larva when they are leaving the hive to pupate? Prehaps a modified trap that sits on the out edge of the botom board? Trap the larva as they leave the colony, they drop into a trap of some kind?

Just saying it would seem to me to make more sense.


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## Jpoindexter (Oct 22, 2010)

Yup, thats pretty much the life cycle. But if you have larvae in the hive...its too late. Trapping the larvae is like trapping the fox on his way out of the hen house. The point is, if the bees do not catch the eggs before they hatch...then they are already weak and dont stand a chance. And I dont think its the beetles that dont like the heat from the sun, I think its actually the larvae. I've seen several beetles in hives that are in full sun, but they dont seem to have much effect on the hive-


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## jajtiii (Jul 11, 2008)

The key, as was stated before, is strong hives and limited space. Don't drop a bunch of supers on a hive that cannot patrol the entire area well. Also, don't smash two frames of honey together (if the bees build one out too far.) Your bees need to be able to patrol all of their honey.

That's the number 1 way to deal with SHB. I do not think the traps really help much (except to confirm that you have a problem.)


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

A screened bottom board - 1/8th inch, that the bees can push the beetles through seems to help. I keep a sticky under my sbb, oiled with olive oil. Found one shb on it tonight. Similar effect to the Freeman (?) trap.

Gypsi


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

I have seen M Bush state that the best way to avoid them is to not have a landing board,just a hole for the bees to walk into.The beetles have a hard time landing on the vertical surface so the bees can better defend the hole.I can tell you that from some of the cutouts I have done is that the landing board is a luxury that the bees can do without. They usually land on the board and run in past the bees. The larvae has to go to ground to pupate so the most effective means is to put crushed limestone under your hives so the larvae has to crawl through it on their way to the dirt.That cuts up their skin causing them to dry out.That tidbit came from Kent Williams. I have had a couple of hives destroyed by SHB so this is a subject that has a special interest for me.


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

chevydmax04 said:


> . After doing some reading I am finding that the hive beetle leaves the hive to lay eggs in the ground outside the hive, is this true? and if so how are they getting back in since my hives are elevated 12 inches above the ground.


Not true they lay eggs in the hive, the larva develops in the ground, as some one else said after the larva leaves the damage is done


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

I have limited data, as I only tried MAQS on two hives this year, but what I saw was surprising. In both cases SHB seemed completely immune to the formic acid vapors and in fact I found them thriving in mass under the strips. I found about 30 beetles under each strip and in one case they had even hatched eggs and some SHB larvae were present. Given this, I would carefully monitor SHB when formic acid strips are applied.


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

Little if anything that can be introduced into a hive has any effect on the SHB so time is better spent trying to keep the hive strong which will keep the SHB as a secondary pest. I tried all of the home remedies the first year I had them and none of them work. Like someone said earlier the traps are a better way to determine how bad your problem is than they are a cure. The way I look at them is every beetle they catch aint causing me any more problems! but they sure wont cure the problem. Good luck.


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

Another thought, you said you saw one small hive beetle, the most effective tool for small numbers is your hive tool, just mash him and hope he dont have friends. If you lift cover and see 20 or 30 then start worrying. If the hive is strong and there is not too much space the bees cant cover they will be fine. The Wisconsin winter should be pretty rough on the SHB.


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

hemichuck said:


> The Wisconsin winter should be pretty rough on the SHB.


Not ruff enuff


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## ocooch (Aug 25, 2009)

I live in SW Wisconsin, where the winter temps got down to -10F for severa days last winter, and still my hives got wiped out by SHB. My shock! I thought SHB was a "southern" beekeepers problem. My 1st experience w/them and they are nasty. My bees "were" of an unknown race -- I think mostly Russian (mostly small and black, and very aggressive, industrious). I made every mistake possible. I had to leave for 2 weeks, the bees were laying up honey like crazy. So, I added an extra 2 honey supers. When I came back, I discovered the queens were gone and the hives were riddled w/larva. I jumped on the problem, but it was too late. Ugh! Lost all my hives! 
If I use all new frames in my new hives, does anyone think I will still have a problem w/them? For instance, will they overwinter somewhere/ So far, the temps have gotten down to -7 for one night and several around 0F.


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## chevydmax04 (May 11, 2009)

did you treat for mites before winter? I have seen SHB in my hives but I would think mites were more likely the culprit in wiping out your hives. Last year I did not do mite treatment and I lost 3 out of 5 hives. This year I treated so it will be interesting this spring to see the difference


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

ocooch said:


> If I use all new frames in my new hives, does anyone think I will still have a problem w/them?


Small hive beetles can fly, just like bees. So using new frames is no defense against getting SHB, they can just fly into your hive.


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## ocooch (Aug 25, 2009)

chevydmax04 said:


> did you treat for mites before winter? I have seen SHB in my hives but I would think mites were more likely the culprit in wiping out your hives. Last year I did not do mite treatment and I lost 3 out of 5 hives. This year I treated so it will be interesting this spring to see the difference


No, it wasn't mites. Mites might have been a minor factor, but the SHB larva ruined the frames. Having not been aware that the Queens were gone, I lost at least 2 weeks before the Queens were replaced, so that's 2 weeks of no brood coming in. After being back home a few days, I eventually saw SHB adults. It never entered my mind it was SHB; I thought "No way -- they aren't found this far north." At least that's what I had heard and read. 

These bees came from Texas the previous season. They were so aggressive and industrious, I thought they might have had some African genetics. When I saw the larva, I thought it was wax moth, as I had had no experience with wax moth before. I wasn't too concerned about that, as my hives were pretty strong and industrious. So, I did some interventions for that. When I returned from my 2 weeks away, the bees were much reduced in activity, which was a factor in my investigation for the presence of the Queens, and I ascertained the Queens were missing. (Not sure why - I guessed I had accidentally killed them in inspecting the hives before I left home. [another story])

I really liked those bees. Incredibly industrious, although a little too aggressive -- they would send out a "guard" bee or two or three after leaving the bee yard, and those bees would follow me 100 yards or so.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

No queens might mean your hives swarmed took the queens and 1/2 the bees (maybe more). Leaving your hive allot of unpatrolled space. Making open to beetles and moths.


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