SHB - Not so much this year ? So far.....

Lower than usual. This has been a killer bee year in my opinion

Maybe it's just too early but I've noticed a huge reduction in SHB up here in Piedmont NC. Hope it lasts.....

They're down in my area also. I know they migrate but I don't know how far or when. I hope they took the varroa with them!

It has indeed seemed to be a bee year thus far. However I would not count my blessings quite yet. The unusually cold winter may have taken a toll on the SHB. Then again it may have just set them back a few weeks. We generally do not have to worry about SHB up here until later in the year. so I cannot determine how they are for us yet. It is often hard for me to tell as I use nematodes, and drenches so they are never much more than a mild inconvenience to me. Mind you it would not hurt my feelings if the beggars got whipped out.

I was averaging 25 per week dead on tray under scree

snl said:

Have seen almost no SHB's this year ....... last year I was inundated with them.........

What are you experiences this year with them?


Larry

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Wait till August and report back.... Bout the time Watermelons, cantalope, and sweet potatoes that are left unharvested start to rot in the fields....

Slow Drone said:

I know they migrate but I don't know how far or when.

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SHB migrate? That's news to me..........

Same here. One adult beetle was found among my 225 colonies.

Glad I saw this post. I was thinking of starting a thread on this.

Sometime in April I pulled a frame that had both adult and young larva from my one overwintered hive. I destroyed this frame and dropped in a foundationless frame. This was the last time I have seen SHB's on any of my hives. I split that colony, got a new package in late April, and caught a swarm in May, so now I have 4 colonies. I did an indepth inspection today and saw no SHB's. Not as good as Matt (one among 225 colonies), but I'm not complaining. I guess it was the brutal winter that took out any feral SHB's.

Don't speak too soon. As the watermelon and cantaloupe harvest wrap up, I'm seeing increasing numbers in my hives. One yard was so inundated this weekend that I elected to harvest supers and reduce hive size rather then come back to a slimed out mess. Keep an eye out now because the beetles should be molting out of the discarded melons and moving into hives.