Small hive beetle infestation

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Two hives were weakened by mosquito spraying and the small hive beetles, wax moths and ants finished the job. Notice the small crawling larva and oily appearance!
http://americasbeekeeper.com/SHB_infestation.JPG
http://americasbeekeeper.com/SHB_larva.JPG
This hive had about 5 gallons of honey when destroyed.

[Tara]

Ew...that's really disgusting. Thanks for posting! The beginner books don't usually include pics quite like that.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

There have been so many threads here with possible small hive beetle infestation I thought it is important. The hives died just in time for the workshop on Integrated Pest Management IPM and Best Management Practices BMP. The diseases pests and parasites class was full of disgusting pictures in July. I have the pictures at www.americasbeekeeper.com/Private_Gallery.htm

[Mike S]

Good pics, thanks for sharing. Did you burn the hives?

[AmericasBeekeeper]

I did not burn anything. SHB is not a virus or disease. I did feed the frames of larva to the chickens. They cleaned them up great without destroying the comb. American Foulbrood (AFB) must be burned and Florida allows irradiation instead of burning. The fruit plants have radiation treatment in Florida.

[Trevor Mansell]

Sometimes Ill put the frames in a freezer for a couple of days ,then place them on a good strong hive.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Freezer works great! The chickens clean them in a day without destroying the cells. They taste like chicken when they are larva fed too.

[FloridaBee]

Thank you for sharing these, AmericasBeekeeper - May I ask what the time frame was between having a "healthy" hive, and then noticing the damage? two or three weeks, a month or six weeks perhaps between inspections? I'm trying to gauge how quickly disaster can occur. I'll be even more vigilant in my inspections for these nasty evil-doers.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

It was one week between inspections. The heavy loss of workers to mosquito spraying made an easy prey for the shb and wax moths. I recommend inspection every three weeks. The bee workshops are every month so it will never be over four weeks for these hives. I always check the week prior so I am prepared for the class. In this case it was first observed in dead bees fanning out in front of the hive. If I see, smell or hear anything unusual, I always go in to check it out. Visitors to the bee yard are quick to contact me if there is anything suspicious. Several have been to two years of workshops. There are only four Langstroth hives and one Kenyan top bar hive so it is only a half hour to check them out.