[Hayseed]

From what I've read, all stages of wax moths are killed at 5 degress ferenheit for two hours.

It sems the cocoons help keep the larva warm. See:
http://www.blessedbee.ca/encyclopedia/honeybees/diseases/waxmoths.php

Excellent pics.

Dale

 

[Hayseed]

<The "climate" inside a beehive is not that cold. >

That's the point. I believe the question from Ian concerned whether the critter migrated or just hunkered down.

Obviously they can survive quite well in an active hive.

I wonder how well they could survive without the shelter/warmth of an active hive - Re: stored equipment.

I found an old Nuc I left out with drawn comb. What a mess! Blankets of web and completely destroyed comb. - Approx. 1,000 cocoons. I didn't wait to see if they'd survive. I simply placed the entire nuc in the chest freezer for a week. It made for an interesting observation. The larva actually ate away a small indentation in the wood before spinning the cocoon, leaving permanent damage to the woodware. We reached temps around 20 below last year. I wonder if they would have survived, had I not placed them in the freezer.

Dale