View Full Version : SHB Diet
What does the diet of a SHB consist of?
Thanks,
Kevin
King bee apiary
05-20-2007, 09:39 PM
Wax,larva,combs...they are nasty little bugs...
tecumseh
05-21-2007, 05:35 AM
they are a scavanger and seem to be highly attracted to pollen.
I have had pretty serious problems with the hive beetle.
My experience has been that they prefer the brood combs, and they seem to really multiply quickly if there is pollen present.
I have seen hives succumb to the hive beetle and the brood nest is a disaster area, while the honey supers are pretty much untouched. I don't think they really like the wax or the honey, they are after the protein in the pollen and the brood.
Prior to reading the previous post I had never heard that they eat wax. I had heard they'll tunnel through it, but I don't see much evidence of that either.
If you catch an infestation in time, the bees can be rescued. The best method is to sweep all the bees into a swarm box. Put the infected hive in the freezer and rehive the swarm in fresh equipment. They'll need food and fully drawn frames will help them enormously.
I haven't tried this, but I'd bet a frame of open brood from another hive would improve their outlook on life tremendously too. They tend to get completely demoralized in the declining environment, and some brood would give them purpose right away.
As for cleaning out the old equipment, that has been covered previously, do a search.
Found this in Beekeeping for Dummies by Howland Blackison.
"The larvae of this beetle eat wax, pollen, honey, bee brood, and eggs. In other words they gobble up nearly everything in sight."
Wow, now if they would only eat wood and live bees.
aidah
06-09-2007, 09:13 PM
I just can home from a bee keepers Assoc. meeting in central Fla. I asked a chemist there if I could spray my hive beetles with liquid nitrogen. The beetles in my hive hang out at the bottom of my hive in a big group. If I can shoot a stream of L.N into the group they would die instantly and no residue is left behind to kill the bees. I could also vacuum the pile out with a small vac. I'm going to get these things under control one way or another.
Let us know how it turns out.
tecumseh
06-10-2007, 05:34 AM
troy sezs:
Prior to reading the previous post I had never heard that they eat wax. I had heard they'll tunnel through it, but I don't see much evidence of that either.
tecumseh replies:
I suspect this may be a bit of a language problem troy.
first off what the adult eats and what the larvae eats is not necessarily identical. also what is consumed and what is digested may not be the same thing either.
Now I am not so informed about the shb but in the case of wax moth infestation the moth larvae eats but does not really digest the wax. At least in the case of the wax moth the wax still remains in the form of small black pellets that the larvae have excreted. In both cases drawn foundation is reduced to a worthless mess.
beemandan
06-10-2007, 07:46 AM
the brood nest is a disaster area, while the honey supers are pretty much untouched. I don't think they really like the wax or the honey, they are after the protein in the pollen and the brood.
I've had them ruin a full honey super. Its my understanding that the female lays her eggs underneath the caps of brood cells. The newly hatched SHB larvae consume everything in sight. They need the protein from pollen and brood. But once they get going, its my experience that they'll move into honey supers with vigor.
Beemaninsa
06-10-2007, 11:01 AM
It is my understanding that SHB can survive on honey, but require the protien from pollen brood or eggs to reproduce. I also believe they can survive on certain fruits, some citrus I believe.
aidah
06-11-2007, 08:01 PM
I used my Hoover on the beetles with a small thin nozzle. It works great I got about 200 of them and 5 bees. As for the LN I'm still working on that one.
If you started out with undrawn foundation and are able to get them up,then move the bees aside on the frames and kill the beetles there as well your chances of getting rid of them are good since there is very little drawn comb for your new package of beetles to hide in.
Suppliers must be getting hard up, not shipping out orders then shipping out 1# of beetles and 2# of bees in every 3# package.