Scorpion for Varroa control?

[MichaBees]

Well, it is not a scorpion, but I hope it works for large operations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qw3eVjQPXQ

[Charlie B]

Forget the powdered sugar, I'm getting one for each hive!!

[Daniel Y]

Looks good but do they eat bees also?

[MichaBees]

They only eat the honey...
Just do not know all the facts

[Fishman43]

Reminds me of the amazing toad imported into Hawaii to control pests...

[Michael Bush]

I've seen a few pseudo scorpions around my hives. But not very many and not enough to convince me they make any difference on Varroa or that Varroa make any difference on the population of pseudo scorpions...

[Katharina]

They do not eat bees or honey. They do hitch rides on bees. They are good at eating varroa mites, but they also territorial so you will never have a lot of them in the hive. They are also slow and low in numbers when it comes to producing offsprings. The mites one the other hand reproduce very fast. With other words they will not make a dent big enough to matter when it comes to mites.

[Lost Bee]

There's a pic of one hitchhiking on a fly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscorpion


I'll pass on this. Imagine getting that on your hands while handling the frames.

[Kieck]

Pseudoscorpions are harmless to humans. Generally pretty harmless to bees, too, I would think. I doubt they would do much of anything at all against Varroa. Some species prey on mites, but not on the sorts of mites that live as parasites on such active insects.

[Paul McCarty]

We have some pretty darn big Pseudo scorpions around my parts. Don't ever let one of them pinch you. Their claws are poisoned... They sting with their claws!

[Kieck]

They do have venom glands in the pincers of their pedipalps, but a "big" pseudoscorpion is almost 1/3 of an inch long. I'm not sure how they would manage to get a pinch of human flesh into their pincers to "sting" a person, and I doubt it would be any more painful than a bee sting.

I'll confess I've never been "stung" by a pseudoscorpion -- my conjecture about the level of pain inflected is pure speculation. The venom is not a sort that would pose any health risk to a human (barring unusual allergies, of course).

[Paul McCarty]

The big tan ones in the New Mexico desert can be nearly 3 inches long. Tan and striped just like a regular scorpion. We also have vinegaroons. They look similar, but are not the same thing. They can be up to 6 inches long, and normally black as night.

[Kieck]

Ah, that explains it. The big tan ones you're seeing are likely "sun scorpions" or "wind scorpions," in the Solifugida. The pseudoscorpions that are being discussed here are in the Pseudoscorpiones. Different sort of thing entirely. And you're right about solifugids -- they can inflict a painful "bite."

[Paul McCarty]

Oh no, sun spiders and wind scorpions are here too. They are totally different. This is about 3 inches long and looks exactly like a tan scorpion with no tail. They have a brown stripe on their side, just like a regular scorpion.

[Kieck]

I don't know what they might be, then. Pseudoscorpions are all less than 1/2 inch long, as far as I'm aware. Tailless whipscorpions (Amblybygi) would fit the size and general description, but lack venom of any sort.

[SRBrooks]

I have a question about this. I have two TBHs, and I NEVER fail to find a scorpion under one or both covers. I don't see how they can get between the TBH bars, but there must be some nice food choices for them under the cover if they're always there. Due to the creep-factor of scorps, I always kill them. But now I kind of wonder if maybe they're doing some good around the hive. I did see one eating a bee one time, but I think it was one that got squashed between the bars. I also find the occasional spider web. They're eating something...maybe they're doing some good and I should let them live?????

[Michael Bush]

I don't think real scorpions (as opposed to pseudo scorpions) eat mites. I would get rid of them so I don't get stung...

[SRBrooks]

Cool, because the only good scorpion is a dead scorpion, if you ask me.

Just re-read "The Practical Beekeeper" this weekend. Excellent.

[Nature Coast beek]

Had a real scorpion next to one of the hives today, dispatched it. We have tons of scorpions in these parts and I've been stung in bed while sleeping on more than one occasion. In my opinion, bee stings are worse than scorpion stings...but that may just be me.

[SRBrooks]

I've never been stung by a bee, but the one scorpion sting I got felt like someone had put a match out on my skin. It was over very quickly, at least. Scorpions are everywhere here, as well as black widows.