What does hive placement have to do with SHB?

[kedgel]

I've read a few posts that suggest placing hives in full sun helps control SHB.  My books all say to put them in a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade.  I know the A.M. sun gets them up and moving in colder climates, but that is not an issue here in FL. Here the problem is keeping the hives cool.  I have started doing cut outs and trap outs this Summer and found that without exception when the bees choose their own spot it is never in the sun.  Out of about a dozen feral hives, only ONE was not in a very shady, sheltered location.  Even it was not in full sun.  That being said, I have tried to follow the bees lead and place my hives in shady spots.  I would think this makes it easier for them to cool the hive.  I tried putting one cut out hive in a sunny spot that only got some late afternoon shade.  That one just absconded due to SHB infestation.   I admit I didn't watch it like a hawk and had more frames than they could cover, but it didn't seem to make any difference over shaded hives that got infested.  SW FL is HOT.  I'm not sure what full sun is supposed to accomplish.  Logic dictates that since larval development is a function of temperature, that increasing the temp in the hive would accelerate the maturation time of the larvae, speeding up their pupaetion.  The only possible benefit of hot hives that I can see is more bees clustering about the entrance to the hive trying to keep cool make a barrier to adults getting in.  It's harder to rush the quarterback when everyone is on the line! :evil:  I'd like to understand why...

[indypartridge]

I've read a few posts that suggest placing hives in full sun helps control SHB.  My books all say to put them in a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade.

I'd bet most of the books you're looking at were written prior to SHB infestations. "Full sun" has been a standard recommendation ever since SHB has become a problem. The basic reason is that honey bees tolerate full sun better than SHB, which prefer the shade. It's a trade-off. Yes, the bees may work harder controlling hive temps in full sun, but that's easier than dealing with increased numbers of SHB in the shade. Here's one research report (Google "full sun" and "small hive beetle" and you can find more)::
http://www.fcla.edu/FlaEnt/fe90p404.pdf

[Robo]

I admit I didn't watch it like a hawk and had more frames than they could cover, but it didn't seem to make any difference over shaded hives that got infested. 

Hive placement can not overcome poor management.   You can decide whether you consider hive placement as an IPM technique,  but most IPM techniques make small  incremental improvement (not a total problem solver by themselves) and can easily be offset by other management practices of the beekeeper.

[rast]

 A years fumbling experimentation on my part dosen't prove anything yet. I had a couple of shaded hives last year that had more SHB than I thought was good. I was using some homemade borax traps which helped as long as I kept them in there. I decided I didn't want to keep that stuff in there all the time. I moved them to an area where I have some more hives that didn't have a SHB problem. Yes, I worried about infesting them. It didn't happen and now you are hard pressed to find a SHB in the ones I moved. It is in the full sun and gets the afternoon til the sun sets. It bothers me more than the bees I think. I have to work these in the AM.
One of or probably both of what I did helped, moving them to another yard, or full sun.