# SHB is here



## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Few shb beetles... no prob... Larvae in comb... Not Good!!


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## Rohe Bee Ranch (Feb 12, 2008)

Sorry to hear that they have traveled that far north. Check them often. Winter won't get rid of them.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

There was only one? Check the bee bread and honey surrounding that brood area closely to see if there are smaller larvae. It may just be a fluke grub from a moth. The beetles on the other hand are indeed an issue. If it were shb larvae, you will know for sure very soon as they will be trying to raise as many new beetles as possible at this time of the year... in fall, they will stop laying eggs and start trying to blend in with in the clusters to overwinter... then in spring, they can spread out so that as soon as the hives build up plenty of stores, they can lay like crazy and use the food that the hives have stored to rear the next generations... Good luck.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

You may not see any larvae because they are beneath cappings... usually there are tiny air bubbles that can help you find them.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Uh, your photo seems to show a wax moth larvae, not a SHB larvae.

This is a SHB with larvae -->Photo Link


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

That's why I included it. Haven't seen shb larvae, but looking at a few images on the web, can't say I see much of a difference.


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## WI-beek (Jul 14, 2009)

So Russell, is it myth that winter will keep shb from becoming a major pest up here? I mean will most die off over winter or will they just winter like mites and explode come spring? Does oxalic acid have effect on SHB in the winter cluster?


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Joseph Clemens said:


> Uh, your photo seems to show a wax moth larvae, not a SHB larvae.


Had to look again... yea.. I agree.. that's a wax moth larvae.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Barry said:


> That's why I included it. Haven't seen shb larvae, but looking at a few images on the web, can't say I see much of a difference.


Could you easily put that larvae on a fish hook? SHB larvae are much smaller that WM larvae.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Wax moth larva don't seem to have as big of a head on them like this one has.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

hpm08161947 said:


> Could you easily put that larvae on a fish hook?


No. It is not plump like wax moth, quite thin. I've seen plenty of wax moth larva and I'm pretty sure this isn't that.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

That's what it looked like to me too... pics can be misleading under different lighting, but if there was only one, its a pretty sure bet that its a moth grub because each laying shb will lay about 2,000 eggs in a short time... resulting in LOTS of larvae at once...


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

I'll go back this weekend and take a closer look with camera in hand. These combs had lots of bees on them, so this time I'll brush the bees off and get a better look at the open brood.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

After looking at it again, it does seem to have a head... I would assume its just a fluke grub from some other type of beetle... I would inspect again in two or three days and if you can't find more larvae, I would not be concerned about it.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

I have seen hives slimed in Wisconsin after Cranberry pollenation. So yes they can do damage up in the North Country where you are at Barry. Keep your hives strong-otherwise you will not be a treatment free beekeeper. You will either treat for them or be slimed out of the bee business if you do not keep strong colonies. Also do not super as high as you used to--keep them low. Some stocks of bees are more easily overcome by SHB. Dr. Russell is developing a strain of bee that can cope with them-the tiger line. We have stock that can cope with them also. Our bees favorite trick--wall them in a propolis prison and let them die. UH- this is an African honey bee trait. Most likely from our Lamarkii genetics.... Good luck and sorry you now have the beetle from hell to contend with. Beekeeping will change for you. TED


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

WI-beek said:


> So Russell, is it myth that winter will keep shb from becoming a major pest up here? I mean will most die off over winter or will they just winter like mites and explode come spring? Does oxalic acid have effect on SHB in the winter cluster?


Yes. They can live in any climate that bees can live in and they are actually still active a few degrees below the honey bees range... so they are a little more cold tolerant... however... they use the bees almost like a livestock. Lol. They will wait until the bees do all the work of building up the hive full of pollen and honey before they pounce... meanwhile, they are spreading from hive to hive to better ensure their odds... its summer when or just after a swarm that they really pounce... 

Yes, just about any method of killing mites will have a negative or kill effect on shb... those fall treatments that you mentioned will be helpful at the least... baited traps are also more effective in late summer early fall... the idea is to kill every beetle that you possibly can before winter so you can have a safe spring, being able to start new hives without worrying about getting slimed... by late spring/early summer, you will be right back trying to keep them out and kill the ones that you can..


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Here's a link to a thread from Arvin, showing a wax moth larvae with a SHB larvae lying on top of it. A very good contrast of the differences between these two, very different larvae --> Link to Wax Moth/SHB thread


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Wax moth 4 center legs were my defining trait. All my shb larva turned out to be small moth larva. I caught them before they got to their full size.


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## WI-beek (Jul 14, 2009)

Oh man, that's not good news. I hope I get a few more years before I ever see one of those dam things. Every time I ever see anything other than a bee scurry about the hive I almost panic. Seen something black scurry away in a video I was watching of one of my inspection and my stomach sank. I watched it frame by frame and thank goodness it was just an ant, LOL!


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## baldwinbees (Mar 2, 2010)

in a weeks time a hive that looks strong can be slimed.hive beetle larvae look like fly maggots going from the outside frames in.we're trying to find a use for all the beetles we are raising here.at least moth worms you can bait a hook with


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Here's a link to a nice visual reference I found online -->





​


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## CentralPAguy (Feb 8, 2009)

Last year, I had purchased some hives from a beekeeeper who did migration and the SHB had gotten so bad that it slimed everything in that yard. I ended destroying everything that I had purchased and it was a lesson learned about buying someone else's problem. I had no bees survive in that particular yard and this year, I moved my yard to a sunny location and I started feeding them sugar syrup about two weeks ago and I am finding a few beetles in my top feeder boxes which I kill with the hive tool. These hives are strong and were created this year.

So in that particular yard, I ddin't see any beetles until around Aug 15th and my new beeyard is about 50 yards away from it. While going thru the frames, I did see a few beetles climbing into empty combs, which I killed. 

In the beginning of July, I pulled some honey that I didn't extract right away and the SHB had gotten to it and they slimed it and there were all this larvae in it -- I destroyed the frames after freezing them. My question is can you feed this slimed honey back to the bees or won't the bees touch it? Thanks.


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

What to do with larva? Chicken feed. It will get you a LOT of eggs. Very high in protein. Sorry for 
your loss. beginning to be thankful for my drought.

Gypsi


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

One difference that I've *read* between the shb larvae and the wax moth larvae is that the moth larvae have caterpillar feet...soft fleshy feet extending down the body for a considerable length. The legs on the shb larvae have real "hardened" legs with joints...three legs on each side of the body and located up towards the head area. Looks like I can see three legs on one side of that larva.

Ed


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

CentralPAguy; the bees abscond because of the slime. I doubt they'll eat it. In the past I've lost roughly 160 hives to SHB; never seen bees eat the nasty mess that runs out the entrance. I've also never had much success getting bees to use the slimed frames, even after cleaning in a bleach solution. I just give them to the garbage collectors with fond wishes for a Merry Xmas. So far, in the last 3 years we've only lost one hive to SHB. We keep traps in them year round, at least one fresh trap per brood box. The big problem we've had over the last 3 years is with extracted frames. Can't leave them out for more than a day or the beetles will ruin them quickly. And keep the honeyhouse spotlessly clean! I saw another beek's honeyhouse that was not cleaned after extracting; the honey sump tank had 5-6" of dead beetles floating in a sea of slimed honey.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Fish_Stix: What kind of beetle trap are you having success with? What is the bait?


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

They will rob out the frames if you stand them up in the yard, but putting them on hives will just cause that hive to be slimed as well... standing them up in a yard that is not loaded to the gills with traps is also going to lead to more slimed hives... as for saving the wax, only if you catch it immediately and the comb is light... letting the bees rob it out, and let it "cure" in the sun and open air... which of course can lead to melted combs that the bees will have a harder time repairing than building new ones... so in small numbers, maybe, but for large numbers, fish has it right, cut it out, bag it, and get rid of it... I prefer cd cases for cost and flexibility of use in between boxes as well as on bottom boards and beneath tops...


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## Scottsman (May 1, 2011)

Imagine my surprise when I opened this mating NUC.
https://picasaweb.google.com/115294462372638295565/September112011#5650976119160282802
https://picasaweb.google.com/115294...hkey=Gv1sRgCIeL08G0ou6lPg#5650977395857014066


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

That's nasty, Scottsman...and scary. What was the timeline between last inspection and finding this? 

Ed


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Scottsman said:


> Imagine my surprise


Your 2nd photo is what I saw. Perforated cappings, several beetles running around, a maggot sticking its head through a capping hole. I didn't get down into the lower brood chamber and now I'm thinking I sure better.


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

hpm; we use the roach gel baited traps, no choice if we want live bees and no beetles. The oil traps work at killing a few but will not keep out a major influx of SHB and here in FL a major influx happens just about every day! An unprotected hive will have 15-20 SHB visible on top within a couple days and who knows how many hiding down in the boxes. In a week to 10 days we have larva and in 2 weeks we have a slimed and absconded hive. We almost never use pollen patties anymore, they draw SHB like kids to Hershey bars. If you want to feed pollen I recommend the dry feeders from Mann Lake and use their Bee-Pro in it.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

fish_stix said:


> hpm; we use the roach gel baited traps, no choice if we want live bees and no beetles.


Is that all you have in your traps? Just Roach Gel. I guess your traps are CD cases?

I keep asking your these questions because I know your environment is SHB intense.... ours seem to be becoming that way. And you seem to be having success.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Scottsman, that's what every nuc would look like within five days if the mini cd traps were not in them or if the bait sets out or is eaten... definitely worse than any mite or disease that our industry has ever faced...

Barry, best to take a good look... if for nothing more than the peace of mind...


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## Scottsman (May 1, 2011)

Nine Days.


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## thestainedglasschick (Apr 10, 2011)

I had a half of a pollen pattie in each of my 2 hives - inside the inner cover and found SHB maggots and a few beetles feeding on them. Of course, I removed them and now I'm hoping there is not a major infestation. I didn't notice any inside on the frames. Can someone describe what I should be looking for?

Thanks.
Steph


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

Scottsman said:


> Nine Days.


Wow....


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Checked the hive this morning and all is good. It must have been a rogue wax moth grub. Seeing the beetles and then the grub got me a bit concerned after hearing Robert's problems with the beetle. They cleaned out the damaged brood as it was nowhere to be found. That's only the second time I've seen a wax moth grub borrowing away in the middle of a strong healthy comb/hive. Didn't see anymore beetles today. We have them, but so far they are few and far between.


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

That's good news. Similar to me, I have seen a couple of shb, but my grubs have all been wax moth. Are you having a dry year?


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## Sully1882 (Jul 18, 2011)

Scottsman said:


> Nine Days.


at that point all you can do is pull the frame and freeze it for a few days... then replace it and let the bees clean it up.

Sully


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

Sully1882 said:


> at that point all you can do is pull the frame and freeze it for a few days... then replace it and let the bees clean it up.
> 
> Sully


I thought that once the frames were slimed that even after pressure washing and bleaching the bees wouldn't take to them, much less with slime on them. So the bees will take to them after being slimed?


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## Sully1882 (Jul 18, 2011)

i doubt if slimed. but if just full with larvae like the previous pics I froze mine, picked at them a bit with a dental tool and then stuck them back in the hive and the bees cleaned everything up and patched the comb up like new.

hth,

Sully


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Gal I got my hive from said she dumped 5 gals of dishsoap water on the frames after they were slimed, don't know if it works. These frames LOOK like they've been through many years of use. They didn't have comb on them.


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## BugBoy (Mar 16, 2011)

Hi guys, I couldn't help but notice the debate of wax moth larvae vs. small hive beetle larvae. I just wanted to say for future reference, the best way to tell these two similar guys apart (besides size) is by remembering the wax moth larvae is a type of caterpillar, shb are not caterpillars so there will be 4 pairs of abdominal prolegs present on the wax moth larvae.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Let me tell you a story----Hive beetle came into the State of Alabama. The Queen and Package industry went out of the state of Alabama. The hive beetle was the end of a once proud industry. TED


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Want to write a new chapter to that story Ted? East-central AL down almost to Mobil seems to be good area for raising bees... know of any sizable operations taking up residence in that area? If the state needs incentive I'm the form of industry, here I will make an offer... we could join up and re-establish those industries within the state.


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## the doc (Mar 3, 2010)

I am seeing small hive beetle up here in michigan. Others around central west michigan are seeing them. I have put cd traps in and they are helping. 

I haven't had problems with larva except in a pollen patty though. Got rid of that fast.

I have been seeing 1 or two on inspections. One thing i noticed is the bees are letting them out of the traps so I put some powdered boric acid in there. I haven't seen to many beetles dead in the traps so im not sure its working. Does the roach gel work better ? THe stuff i saw was gelled boric acid


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

The roach gel works, only thing we've found that lets us continue beekeeping! I find the SHB dead in the trap, haven't seen more than 5-10 dead outside the trap in over 3 years of using them.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

fish stix - what type of trap are you using? And what is the active ingredient in the gel?
thanks max2


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## Scottsman (May 1, 2011)

I have only tried the cd traps once, they were in the hives for seven days and when I checked them the holes were proped and there were no beetles in the trap. Tryed the little black traps between the frames, filled with Mineral oil, No much luck there either. No bettles in them but several in the hive, especially on the inner cover. I made up several of the traps from old sighns. The same fate, no beetles and the things were all proped up I think they are attracted by the mineral oil or crisco in the sign traps.The only sure cure I've found is the Hive Tool and crush the suckers.


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

With none of your traps working how have you kept your hives alive? From what everyone seems to be saying if you don't keep (working) traps set then your hives are doomed....????

Ed


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

I rely on my bees to kick the shb down thru my country rubes sbb, from there they hit an olive oiled sticky. But I do not have many shb, probably due to the open prairie sort of landscape that surrounds me. I have a couple of trees. One is big. Half a mile away there is a creek with some trees, but nothing in between but dry brown grass. And that creek has been dry all year.

Russell, your beetlejuice attractant - I'm trying to find a way to merge shipping on stuff, and I won't be buying any queens until I know what the heck I am doing. Is mann lake or anyone that carries woodware carrying it? Because apparently to catch a swarm, or do a cut-out, I need about 4 boxes... and a beevac

Gypsi


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

max2; there are 2 main products of the roach gel, MaxForce and Combat. Comes in a large plastic syringe. Doesn't take much to do the trick on SHB. In the CD cases just squeeze a small amount, the size of a pea flattened, in the center of the case. We just squeeze out a spiral track the size of a dime. Slide one in to the back of the bottom board and, if you have a large infestation, another on top of the frames. The gel has an attractant that draws the SHB in. Don't know what the effective life of the gel is, we replace the traps every month or so. It helps if you tape a long piece of wire, like clothes hanger wire, to the top of the trap so you can slide in and out through the entrance. If I had a decent camera I could show you some astounding results; I pulled a trap out last weekend that had an estimated 3-400 dead SHB adults in it. We normally see 50-60 dead bodies. With those numbers in the hives, even a very strong hive won't last long!


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## the doc (Mar 3, 2010)

roach gel is usually gelled boric acid. I have benn using the powder, but not very successfully. I see them crawl in over the powder, and then crawl out.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Which means the powder is being spread within the hive!


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

the doc said:


> roach gel is usually gelled boric acid.


It's fipronil.


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

the doc said:


> roach gel is usually gelled boric acid. I have benn using the powder, but not very successfully. I see them crawl in over the powder, and then crawl out.


Er, not exactly...

One of the most common ones is Combat Platinum Roach Killing Gel:
Active Ingredient: Fipronil 0.01%
Other Ingredients: 99.99%

Another common "off-the-shelf" gel is Maxforce FC gel:
ACTIVE INGREDIENT:
Fipronil*: [5-Amino-1-(2, 6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethyl) phenyl)-4-(1, R, S)-(trifluoromethyl) sulfinyl)-1H-pyrazole-3-
carbonitrile]………………….0.01%
OTHER INGREDIENTS:…99.99%
Total:…………………………100.00%
*CAS NO. 120068-37-3

There are lots of others that have other active ingredients in them, such as DuPont Advion:
Active Ingredient By Weight
Indoxacarb (S)-methyl 7-chloro-2,5-dihydro-2-[[(methoxycarbonyl)[4(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]amino]-
carbonyl]indeno[1,2-e][1,3,4]oxadiazine-4a-(3H)-carboxylate 0.6%
Other ingredients 99.4%
TOTAL 100.0%

I'm sure there are those that have boric acid in them, but I believe most have a more potent form of poison in them with the common "off-the-shelf" ones primarily using Fipronil.

Best wishes,
Ed


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## the doc (Mar 3, 2010)

oops sorry that is right. The roach gel i was looking at was like 40% boric acid gelled. I forgot about all the fipronil based ones.


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## CentralPAguy (Feb 8, 2009)

Fishstix,

What are the threshold numbers -- Last year, I only had one yard that they SHB decimated. All the rest had 5 to 10 SHB in them. Didn't see any SHB until around August this year and the numbers are increasing. I took off two top feeder boxes from two very strong hives and each box had abou 30 to 40 SHB in them, which I killed.

I am thinking that I need to take this pest more seriously as these beetles just fly in and the bees can't kill them. I am wondering how much more the SHB can strengthen for this year. I am expecting a killing frost in about a month.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

If the frost will not kill the bees, it will not kill the beetles... they winter within the cluster not in the ground... longer winters do help by giving them a shorter growing season though... stay on top of them or they will get worse every year...

We have been working on a line of bees that are less deterred by the slime and thus can clean out shb larvae before it damages the combs instead of absconding... we have a bait that helps to lure adult shb into traps, and we have developed a eo formula that helps to deter them from entering hives... kelley is selling an eo formula in a coaster form that may help to run them out of hives or disrupt their reproducing some.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

I just had a call from a friend here in Australia. His neighbour had a hive and it slimed. He put the hose on it to give it a wash but never removed a frame ot gave the hive a proper clean. Very recently a swarm took up residentcy in this hive. Very surprised and I wonder what it all means??


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

From a simple-minded viewpoint (mine), it means the bees accepted it and that I would definitely do all I could to preserve that queen's genes! I wonder how the hive will handle shb once they (the beetles) find the colony???? It would be interesting to see what some of her daughter queens did with previously slimed hives.

That's a nice catch that your neighbor made, max2!!! ...I'd be putting in for one of her daughter queens. 
Ed


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

It may mean the easiest way to get slime off is with plain water, which is what I used after the shb and wax moths got my first hive. Part of the comb was indeed slimed, I dunked all the slimed frames in plain water in a 110 gallon stock tank. Since I returned them to the beek they came from, I don't know whether they were accepted by a swarm or not. I put them out on the lot without lemongrass oil for a couple of days, but no one moved in.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Max is probably in bed by now... the Aussie and kiwi members are my traveling companions so to speak because while I'm traveling at night, its their day time. Lol.

I agree Max, go graft twenty or thirty of those daughters and put them in nucs to see if they get pounded by the beetles or if they can keep them at bay... whatever makes it, graft from again and continue that process... that's what we have been doing with our tigers... of course our process is a bit larger of a scale due to having more resources, but every little bit helps... a bee that is less deterred by the slime can clear out the shb larvae as it hatches instead of absconding and losing the hive... it may just be that they were desperate for a home and the shb were on the decline at the moment, but you never can tell...


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

rrussell6870 said:


> <snip> it may just be that they were desperate for a home and the shb were on the decline at the moment, but you never can tell...


Robert, I think Max2 was meaning that the shb and larvae had been hosed out. I took it that there wasn't any activity in the hive, but that it was waiting for a more thorough cleaning when the bees set up housing keeping in the hive. At least that's the way that I took his post.

Best wishes,
Ed


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Hosed out rarely means that they are actually gone... more like, uncomfortable and some drowned... lol. It takes a good thorough cleaning frame by frame to get all of the larvae out, and thats not always effective... the devils are very tenacious... if caught early enough, as in the first 30 hours after emergence, the frame or frames that are infested can usually be removed and the rest can be saved, but you have to watch them closely from that point because they could have laid eggs anywhere and you will need to remove any areas that start to hatch larvae quickly... the slime left behind by the larvae calls other shb in to lay immediately and the larvae spread quickly... 

I am betting that there were still larvae active in the hive, but seeing as how they are just starting their spring there, they may not have had much good source to propagate in, so it may not have been a bad infestation, just enough to run the bees out while the bees are seeing an opportune time to start over somewhere else...


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

I'm thinking the hive had been sitting for a while, but I don't know how long shb will stay in a vacated hive....I figured it would be until food resources were gone...??? I guess we'll have to wait till max2 wakes up to find out some more details. Whatever the case, it sounds good that the bees moved in behind the sliming. 

Ed


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Your right, they will stay until the proteins and sugars are depleted, or at least until there are no eggs left to hatch and the larvae have all reached the stage to go to the ground to pupate.. it may have been depleted, but yes, either way, its a good sign that they took to the equipment and combs...


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

I have taken slimed supers.... after a 48 hour in the deep freeze and placed them on their side directly in front of a large shop fan and let the wind howl through them for 24 hours and placed them back on the hive and the bees take them. Before they went in front of the big fan.... the bees would pay them no attention. Think this might work?


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

I'm up!! I will see the beekeeper who rung me hopefully next satyrday and I will ask him for a few more details. From what he told me It did not sound like a detailed clean-out and it is indeed likely that larvae where left in there ( and thus protein)
I will get back to this forum if I'm successful in getting more details.
Robert rrussell6870- drive carefully!!


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

I believe that the protein spoken of earlier probably meant pollen.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Hpm, air and sunlight do offer a great deal of cleansing... forced air is probably beneficial by drying out the remaining slime, thus lessening the vapor action of the deterrent... good observation... 

Max, welcome back to the land of the living lol.... I had a good drive and even got a power nap this morning right before daylight. Lol.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

I was asked by a lady a few towns away to have a look at her hives. Her husband had been in hospital and nobody had looked at the bees for over a year - there where simply more important issuues to deal with.
Out od 16 hives 11 are slimed! You should smell them! I hate to think what is has done to the bees in the area. Some of these hives are up to 4 FS supers high. Access is not easy and only possible in very dry conditions. The hives which are alive are full to the top of the lid with Honey ( and loads of SHB) 
I'm trying to get a team together to help the lady out ( and help the bee population at the same time) I'm rather limited in what I can do as I had surgery about 21/2 weeks ago and simply can't lift heavy at this stage.
The boxes and frames are pretty new - burn the frames and try to safe the suppers?
There is an 8 frame extractot about 100m up hill available...geting full supers up there...
It won't be easy!


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

i'd give everything that was slimed a bath. Clean water or dishsoap water. Seems to help, I can't afford to burn everything over shb. And then some freezer time>


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

max2 said:


> Out of 16 hives 11 are slimed!


Ouch! Poor folks... I hate to hear about someones hard work becoming a beetle factories... I would recommend cutting out the comb and washing the frames, boxes, bottoms, and even tops... since your season is really just kicking off, you could probably make splits of the five hives that are left and place the split above a box of empty frames so they can draw natural comb and get going again... just assuming that they do not want to invest in new foundation since the gentleman is in poor health...(of course, they may have some already stored away)... 

Definitely need to fill all of the hives there with stout traps right away...


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## MSBEEINSPECTOR (Aug 9, 2011)

Barry, i have found if you only spot a larva, take the hive tool and mash 1) if wax moth it will explode or cut in half 2) not so with shb, it is almost rubbery and will roll under the hive tool. Not the most scientific way, but sure is a fast way to see without close evaluation. You can take closer look at the legs.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

I got the full story about the Slime out hive from my Beekeeper friend garry. Here is his story:
"
In approx Oct/Nov 2010 , I suddenly discovered a massive slime-out of the one Bee hive that I'd had for about 1 year. I had 3 oil based beetle traps in the top box. It was nasty and horrible just to see the mess the lavae had caused , and all the bees had either left or been destroyed.
I flushed the boxes out and put "gaffa" tape on the entrance and other vents .
In early 2011 , I left the hive for quite a few months trying to decide if I might start again. After a few months , I decided to just leave it all, as we were going overseas in May and I thought I would leave it all till we came back - which was in July.
Then once we returned , it seemed to be the best thing to only start off again in September, so around 18th , I went to finally clean up the hive properly and replace the frames (in other words ,start with new frames and nuke the boxes ), and to my suprise I found the hive seemed to be full of Bees, well almost full.
At first I thought this was a bad idea that they were in the hive, but after consulting with a couple of Beekeeper friends , I decided to remove most of the frames (esp the bad ones) , and the super, put stickies in the bottom and wait for a couple of weeks before replacing the cleaned up super complete with new frames and foundation . 
The bees now in my hive are definately calmer ones than the ones I had before the slime out, to my joy.
So the Universe gave me a present , while I was wondering what to do about the (I thought) dormant/dead hive.
This event has rejuvenated my interest in keeping Bees and I shall be more diligent about looking after them henceforth."
I spoke to a professionsla Beekeeper yesterday and he told me that he had a very similar experience as well. Not sure what it all means??


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

And to think he got a more gentle colony, too! Neat!

It proves too, that rather than chunking slimed equipment to just sat it aside for a while...maybe let time and nature turn'em into swarm traps for us? But, I guess it proves that bees will return to slimed equipment...it just has to "cure out" for a while.

Ed

Ed


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Flushing the boxes out - that I did when I lost my first hive. What is gaffa tape?


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

Gypsi said:


> Flushing the boxes out - that I did when I lost my first hive. What is gaffa tape?


It is the tape electricians etc use. A strong tape but in the case of Gary's hive the tape came off after a few months. It simply a means to close the hive.
My professional Beekeeper friend reports the hives being occupied only a short time after being slimed. Figure that?!


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

We had a month of hot and dry weather and hardly a shb to be seen. No doubt the rain and humidity will come again and with it the pest. A beekeeper very close to me has finally got rid of her shb riddled hives and this could only help.


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## diablod3 (Dec 6, 2011)

it is my understanding that shb lay their eggs in the soil, the larva then make their way to the hive to live. if you build a hive stand that has legs instead of cinder blocks you can place each leg in a coffee can, keep oil in the can, the oil will keep both shb and ants out of your hive. i built my stands out of angle iron with a single pipe leg. i welded a bowl shaped piece a few inches under the bottom board to hold oil. the stand places the bottom of my hives about two feet off the ground which helps with foraging animals like skunks, mice, racoons. there are places to use ratchet straps so that large animals or wind is less likely to knock my hives over. with this type of stand my problems seem to be limited to mites, wax moth and diseases. the only disadvantage is the height, it is sometimes hard to lift heavy items that high over your head, but that's what step stools are for.


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

diablod3 said:


> it is my understanding that shb lay their eggs in the soil, the larva then make their way to the hive to live.


Wrong...

I've already responded indepth in another thread. Ed


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

I always have a few hive beetles in my colonies, but they don't cause problems. The bees drag the larva out any time they show up.

DarJones


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