Joined
·
444 Posts
I saw exactly ONE (1) small hive beetle today in four hives! It's a really good year for the absence of SHB, at least in my observation. But I have a large hive that took a big hit on its population due to varroa, and though that infestation seems to be dealt with, there are two supers mostly full but uncapped, and almost no bees on them, because the population plummeted in the middle of the nectar flow and there aren't enough bees to tend these. There's a lot of brood in the hive, and I think all or most of the nurse bees are tending the brood at this point. I'm concerned, even though I'm not seeing much SHB, that these supers are very vulnerable the beetle. Should I remove the supers and extract, even though not capped, just to be on the safe side? I don't have any other hives I can give the supers to at this point. If I had freezer space I'd store them and give them back to the bees later.