EEK! Wax Moth larvae!

[Mike the Rookie]

Installing my second deep this morning, I saw a larvae in a thin silky cocoon in the inside ledge of my top cover. Thinking it was inert, I scraped it out but left it intact on the cinder blocks the hive sits on. (I was planning to return later and take a picture for reference). When I returned the cocoon was empty, and the larvae was gone.

Can't say for sure that it was a waxmoth larvae. It was white, and about 3/4of an inch long, but to be honest, when it comes to larvae, they pretty much all look the same to me.

This is the first I've seen of this.

[iddee]

Get used to it, it won't be the last.

Wax moths are just a part of beekeeping. They try to multiply, you and the bees try to reduce or eliminate. It is an ongoing game and will be for eternity. They are not a serious problem in a strong hive. They can become devastating to a weak hive. Just remove them when you see them and keep your hives strong.

[Lanier74]

You are not alone. This is just my second year keeping bees and I have had a very problem hive this year and would have caused me to stop keeping them if this would have been my first year. Now I am just too stuborn to let them die. I have been trying to nurse them back to healthy status and when I checked them yesterday after stopping a major robbing problem I found that nearly the entire bottom hive is being eat by wax moth larva. So I am back to square one with this hive and had to reduce them back to one hive body and will be adding brood from another hive tomarrow and freezing all the combs that have been effected.

[tecumseh]

lanier74 writes:
Now I am just too stuborn to let them die.

tecumseh replies: now that's the proper attitude for a beekeeper.

mike the rookie sezs:
I saw a larvae in a thin silky cocoon in the inside ledge of my top cover.

tecumseh replies: technically I think at that stage it is called a pupae.. the larvae stage is a bit earlier.

I would keep an eye peeled on this hive. most times where there is one there is many. look for spider like webbing between frames, plus any kind of excessive trash accumulating on the bottom board (either of these 'signs' suggest serious wax moth problems).

[Mike the Rookie]

I will definitely keep an eye out for all the warning signs, and eliminate any pupae or larvae that I encounter. On one hand, I am somewhat concerned because I noticed it as I was installing a second deep, so there is all that empty, unprotected space for the larvae to infiltrate. On the other hand, I am using plastic frames, which I have heard provides some protection against waxmoth infestation.

Anyway you slice it, I had to add the super, wax moths or no, as the girls were getting very crowded. (all ten framed in the first super filled).

[Ross]

All the wax moth larva I have seen have been in a hard shell. The web type cocoons are usually spider larva. Being on the ledge of the top cover instead of in a corner inside the box also makes me think spider or something else, not wax moth.

[Mike the Rookie]

All the wax moth larva I have seen have been in a hard shell. The web type cocoons are usually spider larva. Being on the ledge of the top cover instead of in a corner inside the box also makes me think spider or something else, not wax moth.

I really don't think it could be a spider larvae. It was cylindrical, and had little nub legs like a caterpillar. I was given to understand that spider larvae looked much more like full grown spiders.

[Ross]

wax moths lay their eggs on the comb, not outside.

[Bee Draggle]

[QUOTE=Lanier74I found that nearly the entire bottom hive is being eat by wax moth larva. .[/QUOTE]

Does this hive have a queen, eggs and brood? It sounds to me like this hive is queenless and has dwindled down to practically nothing. The bees you see in the hive are robbers and the wax moths have taken over.

[Dr.Wax]

I was given to understand that spider larvae looked much more like full grown spiders.

That is correct. Spiders do not have larvae. The babies are fully formed versions of the adults in miniature.