Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Hive beetle info  (Read 6008 times)

Offline Hi-Tech

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 528
  • Gender: Male
    • talkhunting.com
Hive beetle info
« on: June 04, 2006, 12:38:09 am »
I am really beginning to battle hive beetles. Does anyone know of a good source of info about these wonderful creatures (sarcasm)?

Do they fly or crawl into the hive? Can they be kept out? Surly there is a way to beat these boogers without chemicals....
Computer Tech, Beekeeper, Hunter = Hi-Tech Redneck
talkhunting.com

Offline Understudy

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4641
  • Gender: Male
    • http://www.understudy.net
Hive beetle info
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2006, 02:03:44 am »
First and best defense against SHBs is a strong hive. You will never be compoletly free of them but you can keep their numbers down to a minimum.
Other things that help:

Place the hives on concrete. This way the grubs don't go into the dirt to mature and make more SHBs

Take a piece of cardboard (box cardboard) and rip one side off and exposing the waffle edges. it doesn't have to be a neat tear. Place the piece of cardboard on top of the frames on the top level of the hive. Place the waffle side facing down. Give it a couple of days and pull the cardboard.  You will find SHBs crawling in the cardboard. You can fold up the cardboard and place it in a bucket with soapy water, replace with a fresh piece of cardboard. You can also take the cardboard and slap it against a flat surface the SHBs will fall  onto the flat surface you can squish them to your hearts content. Replace cardboard. The bees will slowly chew holes in the cardboard after a while you will need to replace it. The longer the cardboard is reused the more the SHBs accept it. The more that can die.

Also you can replace your frames with permacomb. While it may not completly eliminate the SHBs the numbers will fall dramatically and they SHBs cannot destroy the frames. They can destroy natural comb. The larva chews through the walls of the cells.

There are also chemicals you can use but I don't know what they are because I don't use any chemicals.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline abejaruco

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 598
  • Gender: Male
Hive beetle info
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2006, 04:46:45 am »
http://img56.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc074215ld.jpg
Beetles, How make them bigger and stronger. :lol:

I have not the small version at the moment -toco madera-, but I have listened during any conferences, that inspecting your hives frequently the damage caused by the SHB will be worst, because the desorganization, disruptions in the hive.

Offline TwT

  • Senior Forum
  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3396
  • Ted
Re: Hive beetle info
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2006, 09:50:18 am »
Quote from: Hi-Tech
I am really beginning to battle hive beetles. Does anyone know of a good source of info about these wonderful creatures (sarcasm)?

Do they fly or crawl into the hive? Can they be kept out? Surly there is a way to beat these boogers without chemicals....


I tried to find the page that said that a SHB can fly several miles in a night to find a hive, here's some good reading australia put out not to long ago when the are trying teach there beekeepers how to deal with this pest..

http://www.apimondia.org/apiacta/articles/2003/white_1.pdf#search='small%20hive%20beetles%2C'
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

Never be afraid to try something new.
Amateurs built the ark,
Professionals built the Titanic

Offline Apis629

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 835
  • Gender: Male
    • A Hobbyist's Beekeeping Adventures
Hive beetle info
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2006, 01:16:17 pm »
As for beating those annoying little pests, you can try the cardboard technique, either with coumaphose or some other pesticide.  However, location is your best deffense.  If you can, locate the hive/s in FULL sun.  Don't worry about overheating, they can take care of themselves.  You can use just plain plastic foundation (what I use) instead of permacomb.  It's cheaper, provides the same advantages and, you can use a wooden frame.  I can't stand the plastic ones.  Other good preventatives is to treat the ground around it with GUARDSTAR or some other pesticide.  It has actually been found that the SHBs will not only be around beehives but, everywhere.  They just like to congregate in them.  Also, try to avoid having to feed pollen patties.  The SHBs have a symbiotic relationship with a yeast that they carry and it disolves the honey and pollen into something they can eat.  The pollen patty is an exelant medium for it to grow and, this yeast actually attracts other beatles so, feed pollen patties only as a LAST...VERY LAST resort.

Offline KingBeeApiary

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 11
    • King Bee Apiary
Hive beetle info
« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2006, 01:51:57 pm »
Use Screened bottom boards with mineral oil or vegetable oil in a tray placed under it.I lost one hive to them last year so this year I put sbb on and I have noticed a large drop in population of the shb.All are in direct sun.I also use guardstar under and around the hives.Not in the hives.
I was told that the combat roach gel works very well but is not listed as a treatment for shb and not legal I have not tried it.
In the fall you can use the cardboard with check-mite stapled to the bottom placed on the bottom board and the shb will travel over it and kill them,but I don't like the chemical treatment part.
Do not split any hives after June 10th here in Alabama because they will take over that split and kill it! With the hive weakened they breed like wild fire.
Here is a picture of the hive I lost.
http://home.elmore.rr.com/kingbeeapiary/feedback.htm
If you build it , they will comb it !!

Online Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Hive beetle info
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2006, 10:00:01 pm »
>Do they fly or crawl into the hive?

Fly.

> Can they be kept out?

No.

> Surly there is a way to beat these boogers without chemicals....

I haven't had to face them yet, but those who have say a strong hive is the best defence.

The chemical cures (which I don't like) are guardstar on the ground to kill the larvae and checkmite in cardbard strips to kill them in the hive.

The non chemical methods are DE (Diatomaceous Earth) below a SBB (on the tray) or SHB traps. There are some from Brushy mountain that are on frames in the hive and some from others that go under a screened bottom baord.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline Bubba

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 14
Hive beetle info
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2006, 11:32:53 pm »
Hi-Tech

If you remember me talking about me seeing SHB larva crawling out of my hive I orderded the west SHB trap from brushy mountain. Well I put it in front of the hive under the landing board for a few days and i counted around 25 larva in it. I called another beek to help me. I had nailed on the bottom board to the bottom brood box while I captured the ferrel hive from the tree. Anyhow after I tied in some brood comb from the tree that I cut down. Well I decided to put the shb trap in the hive so I had to have some help picking it up and taking the bottom board off. We took the nail's out and i lifted the brood box off and there was a piece of cloth on the bottom board from tyuing the comb in. I lifted it and I couldent believe the ammount of shb's that were under there :shock: ." It kinda reminded me of the scarab beetles in the movie THE MUMMY". Since I installed the West SHB trap I havent saw any more Shb larva comming out of the hive.  I also put a little honey in the trap with the cooking oil to lure some adult's to their death :twisted:

Offline Hi-Tech

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 528
  • Gender: Male
    • talkhunting.com
Hive beetle info
« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2006, 12:42:17 am »
What about placing a west hive beetle trap on the ground under the SBB? That way no ventilation os obstructed.

Dang Tim... I have seen some nasty hives this year because of hive beetles but that is the nastiest thing I ever saw....
Computer Tech, Beekeeper, Hunter = Hi-Tech Redneck
talkhunting.com

Offline Hi-Tech

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 528
  • Gender: Male
    • talkhunting.com
Computer Tech, Beekeeper, Hunter = Hi-Tech Redneck
talkhunting.com

Offline Apis629

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 835
  • Gender: Male
    • A Hobbyist's Beekeeping Adventures
Hive beetle info
« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2006, 04:07:33 pm »
I have my doubts on it's effectiveness.  Small hive beetles are going to be hiding on the upper or bottom corners.  They usually won't be on the surface of the comb itself unless you have a weak hive or, the bees are in distress (queenless, etc.).  I have noticed that even with a SBB the levels seem to drop as well as placing them in FULL sunlight.  I have read in on of the ABJ "Letters to the editor" (last year) that someone noticed that SHB larvae would hatch, fall through the bottom board and die given they weren't mature enough to pupate.  Perhaps the SBB makes it harder for the SHB to devour the comb because, when they're young, they fall strait through.

 

anything