when do wax moths start

[Black Creek]

looks like i just lost my 1st hive. seems they had a lot of stores, but just didnt move those few inches closer before clustering. so, i have a dead out. what do i do with it? do i have to take all the frames and freeze them individually and store them in a bag until spring? or can i just take the dead out and put it on top of another hive that is still strong? it's one deep and one medium. the deep is all honey super cell (totally empty)and the medium is about half full of honey or syrup i fed late fall. i'm worried if i leave it setting empty that it'll be attacked by moths. the HSC isnt much concern i guess, but the medium has a lot of dark comb that was used for at least one brood cycle before.

[Sundance]

I've heard plenty of accounts of wax moths getting into bags.

[Black Creek]

i just put them on top of a healthy colony for now.

at what temp. do wax moths start to be a problem. or is it just a certain time of year?

the only time i've ever seen them was when i got some old equipment from someone else when i 1st started.

[LEAD PIPE]

I would like some help with this also. My only 2 hives didn't make it. I don't hives to put them on.
Thanks

[Black Creek]

i have some "bt" i can spray on the combs, i guess i'm just mostly wondering if i need to worry about it at all yet.

[Sundance]

Spray them down and worry not if it's the
proper strain of Bt Aizawai

[Dave W]

>take all the frames and freeze them individually and store them in a bag until spring . . .
Freezing will kill all stages of wax moth. If there are no "live" worms or egg in the frames, and you "seal" them in a plastic bag, so no other wax moth can have access to lay new eggs, the frames will remain "wax moth free".

>can i just take the dead out and put it on top of another hive that is still strong . . .
If the dead-out is disease-free, placing "extra space" on a strong hive could be very desirable about the time of fruit-tree bloom. Extra space in cold winter may not be a good idea.


Once outside temperature goes below 40 F, moth activity is essentially halted (but not eliminated) and supers are safe for the winter, as long as it stays that cold [Ref 19, p91]. The ideal temperature for comb storage using insulated, temperature controlled rooms, especially in southern states, is about 48 F [Ref 9, p108]. Wax moth damage is rarely a problem in stored comb until July or August [Ref 9, p155].

[naturebee]

I would like some help with this also. My only 2 hives didn't make it. I don't hives to put them on.
Thanks

For northern beeks, its really not warm enough for wax worm to cause any problem
till 2 or 3 weeks into the swarming season. By that time, you should have bees in
the deadouts. In my area of western PA, in the town of ’X’. I’m good till about mid May.

Clean out all the dead bees and scrape the bottomboard, protect from mice, keep
in a shady cool place with ventilation, and you’ll be ok till swarms come.

I leave mine right in the yards, and they do fine for me.

The worst thing you can do is bring them into a warm house, because
that provides perfect warmth for wax moth growth.

Joe

[LEAD PIPE]

Thanks

[Michael Bush]

When is definitely dependent on how hard last winter was. With a good hard winter we usually don't see them until June or July. With a couple of the recent mild winters they never really went away.

[Troy]

newbeematt:
"the only time i've ever seen them was when i got some old equipment from someone else when i 1st started."

I wish that were true for me. Here in Florida they never stop. We only had a few nights below 40 for the whole winter, and we never got a hard freeze enough to kill the eggs.

Wax Moths have been an awful pest for me this year. This is my 3rd year as a beekeeper, but the first where I've had any significant numbers of boxes to winter over. For some stupid reason I keep trying to freeze the frames and then as soon as I take them out of the freezer to make room for more, the wax moths bite me again.

I am going to try the Bt Aizawai next.

[Brent Bean]

Troy:

Use the Bt Aizawai also know as Certan or B-401. From a happy customer spray them and forget about wax moths.
Contact Sundance he sells the powder form it stores for a very long time and is a fraction of the cost from liquid versions you get from suppliers elsewhere. A couple of years ago I bought some form BeeWorks out of Canada and tested some, the results were amazing.