This is my first year in beekeeping! Recieved new bees and queen package in May. The hive seems to be thriving many eggs, larvae and solid brood pattern! I have already placed a second deep last week. I decided to check for varroa mites with a sticky board and found 8-10 what appears to be beetle mites on the board (see attached pics). What I'm asking are these harmful to the bees and what actions are needed?
Welcome to Beemaster, Ajrj! :happy: It's not uncommon to find all sorts of little mites or insects scavenging in the detritus on a sticky board or underneath the hive. These other creatures are not harmful to the bees and are likely just hunting for food or shelter. They are just a part of the diverse ecosystem in and around the hive.
Yes Welcome ! I agree with The15thMember. I did however see a black dot, that when enlarged is still not clear enough to identify. I am thinking this could possibly be a small have beetle. Did you noticed any or many small high Beatles upon inspection?
Being your location is in Maine, small high beetles may not even be a problem so far North?
Phillip
Quote from: Ben Framed on June 23, 2024, 07:43:13 PM
I did however see a black dot, that when enlarged is still not clear enough to identify. I am thinking this could possibly be a small have beetle.
I can zoom in pretty well on my laptop, and I'm fairly sure that is not a hive beetle.
Thanks Reaga
Phillip
Thanks for the welcome and the knowledge. These ticks are very tiny. Smaller than a hive beetle and a varroa mite. I was just a little concerned that this might be something I missed in my research/learning curve! The good news is that no varroa mites were found! Thanks so much for the quick response..
Don't know where you are in your beekeeping adventure, but one thing I always found helpful is to take pictures of frames of bees. Pictures of cells with eggs, larvae, etc. It is so much easier, as you have already found, to look at things on a bigger screen and see what you missed during inspection.
If you do not see these critters invading your hives, and particularly your brood cells, they are most likely harmless.
The other thing about taking pics inside the hive is that you have a way to compare over time how things are going. IDK about you, but despite my best intentions, I often forget how things were from one inspection to the next!
Quote from: Ajrj on June 23, 2024, 08:30:18 PM
Thanks for the welcome and the knowledge. These ticks are very tiny. Smaller than a hive beetle and a varroa mite. I was just a little concerned that this might be something I missed in my research/learning curve! The good news is that no varroa mites were found! Thanks so much for the quick response..
No problem! Feel free to ask any other questions you may have, join in on some conversations, or just post about your beekeeping journey. We love talking about bees around here! :happy:
Ajrj,
Welcome to Beemaster.
I have been studying bees since 2010. I have been to several bee colleges. I have read almost every post on BeeMaster since 2011 and I have no idea what they are. They may bee a mite that feeds off of other mites especially if they are really small. One thing that I have learned from bee college it that almost every form of life has mites including mites. We humans would get very sick if it were not for mites. They clean our pores, yes they live in them. We wouldn?t live very long without them.
Maybe Michael Bush will see this and chime in. My bet is that he knows what it is.
Jim Altmiller
There are at least 751 kinds of mites that we know of that live on bees, not to mention dozens of insects that live in or under or near a colony.