So what in Africa keeps these suckers under control? I understand the Bees (in Africa) have had years to evolve to fight them but curious what in Africa eats these guys?
UPDATE: As pointed out by Trance, below, the link here is about varroa biological control, not SHB. I leave it included here as it is still interesting, although not about SHB.
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Its amazing what you can find in the Beesource archives! (although this thread is just from two months ago)
> Are they talking about SHB Rader? The topic states Varroa?
Oops, it seems I had a brain fart. The thread I linked above is indeed about a varroa predator.
There is limited information at the link below about biological control of small hive beetles using Steinernema riobrave and Heterorhabditis indica nematodes:
> Still trying to find out what eats these beetles like M&M's over in Africa to keep them under control.
For one thing, the bees in Africa are different than our bees.
The small hive beetle is not considered a serious problem in South Africa where the pest only damages weak bee colonies and stored comb. Apis mellifera scutellata, the African honey bee, apparently does a better job of controlling this pest than our European honey bees. Improved hygenic behavior by the Africanized honey bee and the habit of quickly absconding under light predation likely play a major role in keeping the beetles in check in South Africa.
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/beekeepers/factsheets/small_hive_beetle_ap2.html
I understand as stated in my original post and got me thinking Rader, maybe Bees that have mixed with AHB might actually do some good if you see where i am going with this
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