Pseudo-scorpions or bee scorpions

[db_land]

hennep: Thanks for the good info. Occasionally in my hives I've noticed a single cell capped with a web (just one cell and no other apparent damage). I wonder if this could be a pseudo-scorpion nest? Pseudo-scorpions look bigger than varroa so must be visible to the naked eye? I'll watch more closely in future hive inspections.

[GaSteve]

Take a look under the web. I have seen individual cells covered with a web that upon further inspection contained a very small wax moth larva. Not sure how old they are, but they probably just haven't gotten big enough to do much damage -- YET!

[Michael Bush]

Usually if the webs are just under the cell cappings its Braula coeca larvae. Wax moth larva usually go right for the midrib.

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/pest&disease/sl46.html

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/pest&disease/sl44.html

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/pest&disease/sl45.html

[db_land]

The web is very thin, fairly dense and "caps" a single cell. Seems to be a different kind of web - not like wax moth. I havn't seen any tunnels or other evidence and have never seen Braula coeca on the bees. Maybe a really small spider?

[GaSteve]

That pretty well describes what I saw on empty comb that was stored in my garage. It was not a wax moth coccoon, but a very thin layer of web over just one cell with webbing or maybe a coccoon at the bottom of the cell. There were maybe 4 or 5 of these scattered across one deep brood comb. I'll bet if you watch it closely, within a few days you'll see tunnelling starting at the bottom of that cell into adjoining cells. When I saw that, I dug out what I assumed to be a very young wax moth larva maybe 1/4" long and very thin. I didn't think about it at the time, but I wonder now if it might not have been a SHB larva. I saw no adults anywhere. I should have looked at it under magnification. Anyway, I cycled all my stored brood comb through the freezer for 24 hours.

[Michael Bush]

SHB larvae are "spikey".