[JustinH]

Yesterday when I refilled the sugar syrup in my 26 day old TBH, I saw about 10 small larva (about the size of a grain of rice or smaller) crawling around the bottom board amongst the various debris near my inverted jar feeder. I didn't get a picture but since the hive is only 26 days old and has new comb and lots of bees, would this larva be wax moth or SBH or something else?

 

[ruthiesbees]

My guess would be SHB, based on the time of year...and that is what I have seen on my IPM board already.

 

[drlonzo]

Sounds like SHB to me. Wax moth with be up in the combs eating the wax and creating webs and such.

 

[JustinH]

Crap! They work fast huh? Do the larva definitely have to find soil to grow into adult SHB's? I wonder if I can put something really sticky on the legs of my TBH so the little buggers can't crawl to the ground? Or put a moat of salt or cinnamon on the ground around each leg base that they can't cross?

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

You could use a bottom board that has an oil tray underneath the screen. The SHB larva go through the screen and die in the oil.

There are a variety of commercial products, or you could build your own. Here's one example:

Image linked from here: http://store.countryrubes.com/screenedbottomboards-weatherproofed-2-1.aspx

While there is a screen in these bottom boards, they are effectively a solid bottom board in terms of light/airflow.

 

[JustinH]

Rader, the larva are in my Top Bar Hive. I've yet to see larva in my Lang's.

 

[G3farms]

It could be either SHB or wax moth. I have found wax moth larva already this year.
The SHB larvae will have only three pairs of legs at the front of his body and spines down his back and a forked tail.
The wax moth larvae will have the three pairs of legs at the front of his body AND another four pairs of legs in the middle of his body.

Pick one up and get the magnifying glass out.

 

[johng]

Just keep your feeder cleaned out. Or don't fill it up any more than they can eat in a couple days. If the bees aren't emptying the feeder very fast they may not need any more feed. They could have found a natural flow, if so they will almost completely ignore the feeder when they are on a flow. You don't have to worry about a few larva in your feeder as long as the hive is relativly strong or they don't have too much room to try and protect. I'm sure they are SHB but, I don't think you need to take any drastic measures by putting stuff on the legs of your hive. I'm not sure it would do much good anyway the adult SHB can fly several miles a day so more can fly in everyday. Keeping your hive strong and keep their space just right not too big but not too small is your best defense against SHB.

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

> Rader, the larva are in my Top Bar Hive.

Sorry, i missed the 'TBH' reference in your original post.

But the concept applies to TBHs as well. You could build a screened bottom with an oil tray beneath the screen. But if your TBH is 4 ft long or so, keeping it level enough for a single oil tray would be more complicated than with a Lang. Putting in lime instead of oil could address that, though.

 

[ruthiesbees]

>


Putting in lime instead of oil could address that, though.

I have used a mixture of Crisco and horticultural oil in my 45" TBH, which tends to be more of a semi-solid. In the summer it still tends to liquefy and drip out. And I still don't care for the petro-chemical smell in my otherwise fragrant beehive, so I will be trying diatomaceous earth on the board this year. Just haven't gotten around to doing it yet, although I have seen a couple of larvae stuck on the IPM board. Hoping it will have an effect on the varroa as well.

 

[Connie1]

Are queen larvae larger that the others?