Seen a hive beetle today!!!! Question?!

[Bees4Us]

So today we checked on the bees since it was 70 degrees. They had a little bit of patty left and that was good to see. I pulled out a couple frames and I seen a hive beetle going in and out of empty brood holes!!!! I got it out and didn't see any more. I removed the patty that was in there and put a fresh one in. Very small slits of it. But I am worried it has laid eggs.

My question is, what now???? Does that mean I have an infestation of them since I seem one??? I pulled more frames out and didn't see any more. But I am worried. I only seen it in one of the hives. Do I remove all of the patties??????? They need the food

Help :-(

Thanks in advance.

Angela

[psfred]

Not a problem -- it's going to get below freezing once in a while soon, and the adult beetles will get run out of the cluster and freeze to death.

The bees will deal with any larvae and the eggs (if any) in the patty will die when they freeze.

I found a large number of dead beetles (ten or so) on the sticky board last time I looked -- far more that I would like to see, but it's a strong hive and if we get a normal winter, they will all be gone in the spring. Might be a problem if it's like last year (no winter at all), but I expect some cold weather soon and they will be gone for the year.

Peter

[JRG13]

ur going to see them, it doesn't mean it's an infestation.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

One adult SHB is not an infestation. SHB love protein (pollen substitute) patties.

[Bees4Us]

Thank you Peter for your reply That eases my mind a little. We had a cold streak here a few weeks ago, and I hope it got the most of them, if there were more. It was crazy to see! I am a newbie and this was the first one I have seen in person. I was happy to identify and see it, but also glad to get it out and smoosh it!

As someone replied that SHB love pollen patties, I am aware of that, but I want to make sure they are kept fed.

I wasn't sure if seeing one meant there was an infestation or not, that is why I asked Just making sure, and trying to nip something in the bud if it were a problem.

Again, thanks to yall for taking time to reply!

[snl]

Not a problem -- it's going to get below freezing once in a while soon, and the adult beetles will get run out of the cluster and freeze to death.......... if we get a normal winter, they will all be gone in the spring......... I expect some cold weather soon and they will be gone for the year.
Peter

I don't think that's the case. SHB have been known to live within the cluster. The bees (stupid ones) actually feed the buggers on occasion ......disgusting!

[Bees4Us]

I don't think that's the case. SHB have been known to live within the cluster. The bees (stupid ones) actually feed the buggers on occasion ......disgusting!

Ok, now that freaks me out....some of the bees feeding the SHB???

Should I just let winter do it's thing then?

[snl]

Some of the bees feeding the SHB??? (Yes)

Should I just let winter do it's thing then?

You might try Beetle Blaster Traps (or others) in case the bees break cluster and the SHB move around & get trapped in them.........other than that???

[SwedeBee1970]

Try some powdered sugar on the beetles. It'll help the bees chase the bugs out into the cold.....

[StevenG]

Beetles will survive the winter. Studies have revealed that even when the bees seal shb in a propolis jail, the beetle can "pipe" somehow, and the bees will feed them while they're trapped... go figure.

If you see one beetle, you've got more. Install some oil traps now, and don't worry about it any more. Depending on the physical size of my hives, I'll use 2-4 traps in each.
Regards,
Steven

[Saltybee]

I did not x see much damage, but I assume the white 1/32 by 1/2 worms I found on my solid bottom boards were SHB's. I saw more worms around the sides than beetles, never saw them in the comb though I am sure they were there. Free gift included with every package purchased!

One hive had over a hundred dead worms tangled in webbing under a 3/4 wide slat I had as a wind break on the bottom board. The worms looked like they crawled under the edge,stayed there and died. It was tight on the outside edge and slightly raised on the hive side with some rain trapped debris under it. I plan on giving a wider slat a shot next year as an extra trap for the larva stage.

Planning on my new pest as being a permanent addition.

[psfred]

We had a solid frost the other day, and when I checked the sticky on my "big" hive today, there were dozens of dead hive beetles. The bees chase them off into the corners, and when it gets cold, they die.

Hoping to have far fewer next year due to a real winter this time 'round.

Peter

[rweakley]

I did not x see much damage, but I assume the white 1/32 by 1/2 worms I found on my solid bottom boards were SHB's. I saw more worms around the sides than beetles, never saw them in the comb though I am sure they were there. Free gift included with every package purchased!

One hive had over a hundred dead worms tangled in webbing under a 3/4 wide slat I had as a wind break on the bottom board. The worms looked like they crawled under the edge,stayed there and died. It was tight on the outside edge and slightly raised on the hive side with some rain trapped debris under it. I plan on giving a wider slat a shot next year as an extra trap for the larva stage.

Planning on my new pest as being a permanent addition.

Call me crazy but it sounds to me that what you saw were Wax Moth larva and not small hive beetle larva. If they were SHB larva they would be surrounded with slime not in webbing. Webbing comes with the wax moth larva. You need to decrease the amount of area the bees have to protect and also consider treating the frames with BT (see sundance in the forsale section.)

Rod

[psfred]

Webbing certainly means wax moths. Quite common this time of year, and very shortly (if not already) a frost will take care of them for the year for you.

The bees will remove any found in the cluster area, and any outside the cluster will freeze to death. The adults overwinter, I think, but not in a hive.

Peter

[Saltybee]

Thanks, Makes sense. I had seen a few worms and a few beetles earlier in the hives. Had not seen much of anything on frames. Did not find webbing until late Oct and those were outside. Did not open hive, what was going to happen was all done.
Added 2+2 and got 3.