Michael Palmer
01-25-2009, 08:35 AM
The other day, in another thread, I asked if anyone had seen cold tolerant wax worms. The usual belief is that wax worms are easily controlled by freezing. I agree...with Greater Wax Moths...GWM. Not so sure with Lesser Wax Moths...LWM.
My schedule has me scraping and sorting brood combs in storage. I have always done this work in the spring, when temps warm a bit, and I can work in my unheated storage barn. Keeps the mess out of the honey house, and it's a bit warmer at that time of year. I've always seen live LWM larvae at that time...usually early April. I know the literature says that wax worms are killed by prolonged freezing. So, I figured the live worms must be from freshly layed eggs.
Thursday, I brought 2 pallets of combs into the honey house. I saw some LWM larvae that looked quite dead. I was going to make a post that freezing did kill them. I was also going to take some photos for my collection. On Saturday morning, I got out the camera, and extension tubes, etc. Trouble is, all the supposedly dead LWM larvae were gone! Ok, maybe a mouse got them or...whatever.
I found some more in another box of combs, looking quite dead. Got the camera ready...and the worms moved. They crawled right down, and into empty cells...I imagine crawling away from the light.
These larvae must have come from eggs layed last fall. They matured almost to the pupal stage, but not quite. They have the start of a cocoon, but their development was stopped by the cold.
My storage barn is unheated and uninsulated. I'm sure that even in an unheated, uninsulated building there is some kind of protection from changes in outdoor temperatures. But, how much. Its been below freezing since before Christmas when the bees had a brief cleansing flight. Temps have been very cold. Lows have been -27 and -23F. There have been quite a few nights with temps between -10 and -15F. The storage barn is so cold that ice forms on the concrete floor immediately if you walk in there with snow on your boots. Forget washing the floor!
I took some photos of these super worms. Webster laughs and says I have a new strain of survivor moths. I wish survivor bees were as easy to come up with. :-)
LWM larvae as they were found on combs when first exposed to light:
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/DSC_0754.jpg
LWM larva climbing out of cocoon:
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/DSC_0757.jpg
LWM larva out of cocoon, and ready to crawl into empty cell.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/DSC_0764.jpg
In the other thread, one poster said the LWM larvae last a bit longer than GWM larvae in the cold, but this is rediculous. Has no one else seen this cold tolerance by LWM?
My schedule has me scraping and sorting brood combs in storage. I have always done this work in the spring, when temps warm a bit, and I can work in my unheated storage barn. Keeps the mess out of the honey house, and it's a bit warmer at that time of year. I've always seen live LWM larvae at that time...usually early April. I know the literature says that wax worms are killed by prolonged freezing. So, I figured the live worms must be from freshly layed eggs.
Thursday, I brought 2 pallets of combs into the honey house. I saw some LWM larvae that looked quite dead. I was going to make a post that freezing did kill them. I was also going to take some photos for my collection. On Saturday morning, I got out the camera, and extension tubes, etc. Trouble is, all the supposedly dead LWM larvae were gone! Ok, maybe a mouse got them or...whatever.
I found some more in another box of combs, looking quite dead. Got the camera ready...and the worms moved. They crawled right down, and into empty cells...I imagine crawling away from the light.
These larvae must have come from eggs layed last fall. They matured almost to the pupal stage, but not quite. They have the start of a cocoon, but their development was stopped by the cold.
My storage barn is unheated and uninsulated. I'm sure that even in an unheated, uninsulated building there is some kind of protection from changes in outdoor temperatures. But, how much. Its been below freezing since before Christmas when the bees had a brief cleansing flight. Temps have been very cold. Lows have been -27 and -23F. There have been quite a few nights with temps between -10 and -15F. The storage barn is so cold that ice forms on the concrete floor immediately if you walk in there with snow on your boots. Forget washing the floor!
I took some photos of these super worms. Webster laughs and says I have a new strain of survivor moths. I wish survivor bees were as easy to come up with. :-)
LWM larvae as they were found on combs when first exposed to light:
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/DSC_0754.jpg
LWM larva climbing out of cocoon:
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/DSC_0757.jpg
LWM larva out of cocoon, and ready to crawl into empty cell.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff61/frenchhill/DSC_0764.jpg
In the other thread, one poster said the LWM larvae last a bit longer than GWM larvae in the cold, but this is rediculous. Has no one else seen this cold tolerance by LWM?