# Hive Beetles



## Dee A. Lusby (Oct 4, 2000)

Hi Tim:

You wrote:
What should I do to eliminate or atleast control small hive beetles?

Reply:

You could ask questions on: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaBeekeepers 

Since this is where much of the problem is. See what they are doing.

Regards,

Dee A. Lusby


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## Jorge (Sep 24, 2002)

On the Dec 2002 issue of American Bee Journal there is an article (The Bee Police) where a bee inspector from Arkansas stated that the Small Hive Beetle will eventually invade the entire US. 
Does anybody know if the SHB has made it to the NorthEast yet? Would it survive the cold winters? I guess it can eventually mutate and survive, but right now it seems to be a tropical to temperate wheather creature.

Thanks

Jorge


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I have heard of them north of here somewhere. I can't remember now if it was Minnesota or Wisconsin or Michigan but it was one of those. I think they can live in the north, but perhaps they don't proliferate as much with the winter to kill off what's in the ground?

I do hope I never have to deal with this one.


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## Clayton (Dec 8, 2000)

Hi Jorge,

On the Dec 2002 issue of American Bee Journal there is an article (The Bee Police) where a bee inspector from Arkansas stated that the Small Hive Beetle will eventually invade the entire US. 

reply:

Yes it is a beetle so should thrive well in many climates as many beetles do.

Does anybody know if the SHB has made it to the NorthEast yet? 

reply:

This isn't official and don't want to frighten to many, but is accurate. The hive beetle is definitely in NY state and VT this season coming right straight from FL. So yes its here but nothing is being said so as not to start any panic.

Would it survive the cold winters? 

reply:

Don't lady bugs? Other beetles? Don't think it needs to mutate, should survive here just fine in MPOV.

Clay


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## clintonbemrose (Oct 23, 2001)

We have the Small Hive Beetle here in Michigan and the local college Michigan State University is helping Me control them using a ground drench and other control methods. So yes we now have them in the north and the cold does not seem to slow them down.
Clint


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## timg (Oct 21, 2001)

We have SHB in Ohio. They are quite destructive to weak hives. So far I have found that the bees will dispose of them as long as it is a very strong hive. The only way I have had success in helping the bees get rid of them is to move the hives to a new location. The move interups the life cycle of the beetle. They must go into the ground near the hive to complete there growth cycle. I also read that you can saturate the ground with pyretherin. I dont know what this wil do to your bees. You can also use coumophose placed on the bottom board. I dont have alot of aswers but I have had shb for 2 year and this is what I have done to help my hives along. 

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Tim Gifford

[This message has been edited by timg (edited January 16, 2003).]


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## Dave W (Aug 3, 2002)

Please allow me to ask, what may be a very dumb question, but since I dont know, I must ask.

Do Small Hive beetles fly or just crawl?

Would an elevated stand with the legs placed in cans of oil prevent beetles from crawling into the hive?

Dave W


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## timg (Oct 21, 2001)

Well Dave, Both. The larvae crawl around in the hive and eat brood. They must then leave and live in the ground in order to morph into the adult beetle. This is why you can move the hives to interupt the life cycle of the beetle. You can also saturate the ground with a pyretherin pestiside. Unfortunatly, the adult beetle will then fly into the hive and lay more eggs unless interupted. 

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Tim Gifford

[This message has been edited by timg (edited February 09, 2003).]


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## greenbeekeeping (Feb 13, 2003)

Hi all. Here is a website by purdue that shows a map of where the beetle is infested.
http://ceris.purdue.edu/napis/pests/shb/imap/usaall.html


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## beekeeper28 (Nov 27, 2002)

More pest and more chemical solutions

A member of our local club came up with some good idea recently. Although I don't know of any infestation in our area. We have heard that Arkansas has had SHB.

He made a slot in his screened bottom boardat the fron just big enough for a a SHB to fall through and in front of this he nailed a small angled strip. This causes the bees to go over the bump. SHB coming out of the hive fall through the slot into a mason jar which can be dumped as needed.

Also some are puting old carpet, and other things under the hives to prevent them from going into the ground to finish their life cycle. From what I understand they need to go into the ground soon after leaving the hive.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I would suppose that a sheet of black plastic on the ground would last a year or so and would keep them from either getting in or out of the ground.

Of course a concrete base would do the same, but isn't as cheap.

I think the slot sounds promising, but I don't know how big a small hive beetle is exactly and what size slot would they fall through? Maybe a tray would do? The mason jar requires that the doorway be only as wide as a jar.

I hope I don't have to deal with these, but I probably will eventually.


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## Russ (Sep 9, 2001)

I have my hives sitting on concrete blocks and the blocks are on top of old corragated barn roofing. Guess this would slow them up some. Also keeps down the weeds and grass. Dale


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## Clayton (Dec 8, 2000)

I hate to be blunt. But what stops the beetle from going out farther from the hive and completeing its life cycle? Seems to me going an extra foot or so would make little difference to a beetle. How would you guys control the beetle going organic? This meaning using zero acids,oils,dopes, ect?


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## clintonbemrose (Oct 23, 2001)

A small hive beetle is 1/4th the size of a small lady bug and can fly 4 to 6 miles a day. They can also climb on anything or walk on the bottom of the screen on a screened bottom board. they easly can go thru #8 screening. The grub drops out of the hive to go to ground and can live for about 3 hours in direct sun when it drops onto black plastic. Birds do not like the taste of the worms and spit them out.
Clint

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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan


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## mark williams (Jan 19, 2003)

this don't have to do with shb but Clint was talking about lady bug's . I was wondering I find a lot of lady bug's under my cover on my hives.do they cause any problems to the bee's thanks


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Sounds like superman only smaller and not as nice.

M


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## clintonbemrose (Oct 23, 2001)

Lady bugs do no harm. They just find a warm place out of the wind to go dormant until warmer weather then they will leave. Lady bugs eat aphids and the like competing with some ant's who farm aphids for the sweet substance that they give off when feeding on plants.

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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan


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## beekeeper28 (Nov 27, 2002)

So far we don't have problems with SHB in our area ..yet...

The bottom board was a screened bottom board, totaly inclosed with a removable tray to check on v. mite drops the jar was mounted on the side and the SHB falls down into the inclosed area then is attracted to the light in the jar instead of back up through the slot. 
Does it work don't know we don't have this SHB problem yet. He was just trying to come up with possible non chemical solution.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 2003)

Living in N. Georgia we've had the SHB for some time now. What most people don't know is that I have found several beekeepers that didn't even know that they had SHB in their hives. 

The SHB seems to take to different areas better than others. Here in N. GA. they don't do as well as in S. GA. or Fla. and are not considered to be a problem. The reasons range and vary but are thought to be, soil type (lots of red clay around here) SHB do much better in sandy soils, and natural peradators (fire ants love the larva). I don't treat for fire ants around my hives, and this has worked great so far. I'm sure that some couldn't do this. Another thing is weak hives will fall to SHB long before a strong one. 

Alot of research is being done to find some type of control for the SHB. One is the new type of screen bottoms that are being used. It's plastic and can be found in the craft section of Wal-mart, it's used to do needle work. I can't remember the name now but will up date the post today. The holes in the plastic will let the mites fall through but will keep up to 95% of the SHB from crawling through.

There is some research being done with hives that use more propolis than others. It's thought that a hive that uses more propolis has less problems with SHB.

I hope will help 

Billy Bob


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## Jorge (Sep 24, 2002)

Hi,

In the latest issue of the journal Nature (one of the most reputed scientific journals in the world) a small note is published on the SHB. Here it is. There is nothing special about it, other than the fact that this journal is publishing this. It is rare that they would pay attention to such an issue. 

Nature 423, 793 (19 June 2003)
Hive beetle causes a buzz in Europe
PHILIPP GRAF [MUNICH]
DOCAS, FLORIDA

Unwelcome guest: the beetle Aethina tumida has destroyed thousands of US honeybee colonies.
A new predator could be set to sweep through central Europe's beehives ? and angry bee-keepers are asking the European Union to keep it at bay by banning all honeybee imports.

The parasite in question ? a small hive beetle ? has destroyed thousands of honeybee colonies in the United States over the past five years. Now bee-keepers fear it could find its way to Europe, compounding problems caused by the Varroa destructor mite, which wiped out one-third of Europe's bee colonies last winter.

Larvae of the beetle, Aethina tumida, which is thought to originate in South Africa, tunnel through honeycombs and kill bee larvae. Infested colonies that do not die often leave their hives. The beetle is hard to eradicate, as it is very mobile and can live in wild bee or bumble-bee colonies, which potentially serve as a natural reservoir.

Since its first identification in Florida in 1998, the beetle has spread rapidly. It has also appeared in Egypt and Australia.

European bee-keepers have been importing queen bees and colonies from the United States and Australia to resupply their colonies after the Varroa attack. But this "poses a high risk for bringing in the beetles", says Jeff Pettis, an entomologist at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland.

German bee-keepers campaigning for an import ban claim that four times as many bee colonies as normal could be imported into Germany this year because of the mite pest losses. And France is drafting legislation for a complete ban on bee imports from affected countries.

Britain already restricts bee imports to queens brought from New Zealand and Hawaii. Now campaigners have won the backing of the German government for a Europe-wide ban on bee imports. A European Commission working group will discuss the proposal in Brussels on 24 June.


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## WineMan (May 16, 2003)

I would imagine that SHB will spread all over the states eventually. I think that the map link above is good..... keep in mind that they are most established in the Southeast but they travel anywhere that bees get moved. So generally speaking if you are east of the mississipi and bees are brought into your area, you could easily have them. They are more than happy to hitch hike on a semi load. It has become a joke up here in the spring, that when the tarps get pulled to unload the trucks, more beetles fly than bees.

They definately focus on weaker colonies----dead equipment is a favorite, nucs are about next on the list, singles, etc. I know that they are in my colonies right this second but I havent seen any since April....those were adult beetles which overwintered in the hives. The larvae doesnt seem to survive the winter so the life cycle gets interrupted for at least some of the year up here until the ground warms again.

I have not personally seen them hurt an established colony. But I have seen them completely take over colonies which were hit hard by the spray plane. They seem to be the biggest nuisance in and around the honey house.


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