Beetle Identification

[jeffcool]

I found around 10 of these beetles last week in the back of the hive and crushed all of them. I went back in this week and found about 6 more, but found no signs of larvae anywhere. They are about 4-5mm and have several characteristics that match the SHB chart but the back wing area does not look *exactly* like pictures of the SHB and these look like they have two back sections behind the wings and seem more slender.

The closest beetle I could match it to was Colopterus truncatus (small brown beetle) even though they look mostly black.

Pictures:

https://plus.google.com/photos/10484...CMftus2J8obeZQ

Any thoughts on what they are and if they should I should be concerned about them?

Thank you,

- Jeff

[megank]

Hey Jeff...Richard from the "other" site here...You're looking at a member of the Silphidae Family, also known as Carrion Beetles.

NOT small hive beetles and not a pest of your hives.

Edited to add: Funny thing about the Silphid Family is they harbor more mites than our bees!

[jeffcool]

Thanks for the identification Richard! Good to know they aren't SHB or a typical bee pest and aren't planning to cause trouble.

- Jeff

[olympic]

So, don't kill them.