Will moving hives into full sun decrease small hive beatle?

[RangerBrad]

If you have SHB in a hive that is in the shade, will moving it to full sun cut down on the SHB population or if you have them is it to late? Thank's, Brad

[iddee]

Yes, it will help, and may eliminate them.

[sc-bee]

Yes it will help ---- but seeing a few is possible even in a hive that defends against shb. In shb numbers are definitely relevant.

[AllenF]

I really don't think full sun will eliminate the beetles.   I have a hive on the rail of my back porch in total full sun and there are still beetles in there.

[kingbee]

... will moving it [a hive] to full sun cut down on the SHB

population...

Yes I think it will help and not inspecting them as often may help your bees to herd the beetles and corner or confine them in one spot (hopefully). 

SHBs are a lot like fleas on a dog.  All dogs have a few fleas from time to time, and all hives will at one time or the other have a few SHBs.  The problem begins when the fleas or SHBs wag the dog and control the hive.

[Larry Bees]

My hives are in total sun all day long and most hives have no beetles. The ones that do have them, only have 1 to 4 beetles and I kill them when I see them. I also have screened bottom boards. Larry

[sc-bee]

Sun helps but will not eliminate. Also I have found my area with hard clay base help ---- which is common here in pasture land etc ( not very far from top hard packed red clay). The areas I have had bees in that had topsoil or leaf matter--- I have had to move!

[Intheswamp]

Sun helps but will not eliminate. Also I have found my area with hard clay base help ---- which is common here in pasture land etc ( not very far from top hard packed red clay). The areas I have had bees in that had topsoil or leaf matter--- I have had to move!

Interesting point about the topsoil depth.  "Newbie with no bees at the house" that I am, I have lot's of time to think and ponder the great buzziness of things.  :roll:  So, here goes some thinking out loud in an  attempt to get a better understanding of small hive beetles...

SHB seem to go gangbusters in shady areas and they seem to dislike and somewhat struggle in hives in sunny areas.  SHB shy away from light...such as when the cover is removed from the hive and they scurry down into the frames.  Apparently they like the dimmer light of shady areas and the recesses of the hive bodies when the cover is removed.  Moisture is a high necessity for them...the humid confines of an active hive is a great incubator for them.

From my understanding the larvae pupate in the ground after crawling out of the hive and falling to the ground.  Time in the ground is a "must" for them.  I would think that the dirt has to be somewhat moist for the larvae to bury themselves in it and also to keep them from being dessicated by a dry environment.   A shady area helps to keep the ground somewhat moist as does soil with high organic matter and layers of mulch (leaves, dead grass, etc.,).  Sandy or clayey soils with little organic matter tend to be drier and make a drier, harder soil. 

Low lying areas tend to drain better (naturally) while low areas will hold ground moisture better because of water congregation in those spots (simply more water available to store in the soil there).  Low lying areas also tend to have less wind and take longer to dry than do hill top areas.

Areas in shady areas, low lying areas, or both will have a higher humidity level than a high-ground area in the sun (walk into the swamp and then walk out into a sunny high ground area and you can immediately tell the difference).  Low lying areas catch a lot of fog/dew in the mornings, too.  In a sunny location it seems the bees would be more efficient at reducing the moisture content in the honey (less energy consumed) than they would be in a shady area...an evaporative cooler (swamp cooler) doesn't work well in a humid environment. 

Being more efficient in in evaporating down the honey, would the bees keep the humidity level at a lower level?  Has anyone noticed a beetle explosion during the height of the honey run that could connect the higher hive humidity level during this time (if it is even higher then??) to an increase in beetle larvae?

Going back to the beginning and to sc-bee's mention of the hard pack clay...  Since the larvae have to enter the ground for part of their developmental cycle wouldn't removing their ability to do so significantly decrease their population or at least hold it to a minimum?  Hives placed over cement pads, a layer of gravel-sand (mixture of mostly gravel with some sand), old sheets of linoleum, tin, etc.,.  I know the ground can be treated with Gardstar and the likes, but it seems like a physical barrier would be a good thing.

Full sun, high and hard ground that a tiny larva can't squirm it's way down into...seem like good traits of a hive area.

Since the SHBs fly for several miles I guess they are keying in on scents of the bees....????  There are traps that we can place inside or beneath the hives to trap the beetles, but what about setting up traps outside of the hives?  It's done down here to monitor boll weevils (cotton)...for actual removal of flies and nuisance wasps, etc.,.  Would a couple of bee-proof fake "hives" with beetle traps (moth traps, too?) do any good?  Sacrifice a couple of frames of honey/pollen for bait?  Use some other scent lure?

In my personal situation I am still trying to decide where to place my few hives.  The area is terraced pasture sloping downward to the north.  The few flat areas aren't attractive due to security...exposure to passing traffic or will have shade for more or less half of the day.  There are three terraces.  At each terrace top the topsoil was piled high years ago when the terraces were created.  Between the terraces (sloping ground) the top soil is thinner from where they borrowed soil to build the terraces. 

Terraces are designed to collect water immediately in front of them during rains.  That area dries out slower than other areas.  The area between the tops of the terraces would be the drier areas but are on a slope whereas the tops of the terraces would be mostly level.  But, placing the hives on the terrace tops would position the front door of the hives (from where the beetle larvae will fall to the ground from) at the edge of the moistest area (where the water collects during rains).  I'm considering going ahead and positioning the hives between the terraces...should be the driest area...I'll just have to grow one leg longer than the other to deal with the slope.

Anyhow, I've definitely rambled too long.  Lots of chaotic thinking and uneducated thinking...  It seems removing the incubator environment is definitely a positive step against SHB.

This was all worth what you paid for it.  ;)       
Thanks for letting me mouth off some thoughts, I wore my dunce hat through it all!!!  :-D

Ed

[sc-bee]

Sounds like your thoughts are well placed :-D It is good to do your homework!

A hedge row for some evening shade has not been a problem for me but a help in our 40 or more days in a row of above 93 degrees. Colony strength along with what you mentioned are a must in particular for splits. In splits limiting the bees to what they can protect is a must and add space only as they grow and can protect it.

I would like to have a hive @ my house to watch but due to SHB issues I can not. I have tried several different times in the past few years but to no avail :( They really reek havoc on splits and nucs trying to raise a queen:(  They key on stress and queenless hives. Or weak hives that have swarmed, honeybound weak etc.

One of my yards is less than a half mile as the crow flies, in the middle of an open field, hard base clay soil, gets morning sun, and situated on a hedge row in the middle of the field. It seems to make all the difference in the world. I see shb in them from time to time but have had none to collapse.

After saying that I will probably lose them all :-D

[John Pfaff]

My hives are on a pier over a lake - no ground underneath. When I had hivetop feeders there were a few beetles under the feeders. Hives are in full sun until about 1:00 pm during the summer, full sun all day in the winter. Last check, I found one beetle and killed the little bugger several times.

[AllenF]

, I found one beetle and killed the little bugger several times.

So did you shoot it in the head or stake in the heart?  I just need to know in order to kill mine right the first time.

[John Pfaff]

All of the above and hung him over my hives as a warning to others...

[Intheswamp]

Howdy sc-bee.  I've about figured out where to place my hives.  I may nudge them a tad more to the west to get a little more late evening shade.  Other than that they will mostly have full sun all day long.  One thing I've wondered about is making a "sun umbrella".  A simple frame with some type of dark plastic screen, maybe a light weight shade cloth, built to slightly overhang the edges of the hive.  Build it with some small blocks to hold it up off of the top of the top cover an inch.  This would basically only protect the top of the hive from the sun and the sides just a little during mid-day.  It would not shade the ground much more than the hive already does but could lower the inside temperature of the hives by a few degrees.  A few magnets in the bottom of the blocks would hold it to the metal cover.

Just thinking outside the box. ;)
Ed

Sounds like your thoughts are well placed :-D It is good to do your homework!

A hedge row for some evening shade has not been a problem for me but a help in our 40 or more days in a row of above 93 degrees. Colony strength along with what you mentioned are a must in particular for splits. In splits limiting the bees to what they can protect is a must and add space only as they grow and can protect it.

I would like to have a hive @ my house to watch but due to SHB issues I can not. I have tried several different times in the past few years but to no avail :( They really reek havoc on splits and nucs trying to raise a queen:(  They key on stress and queenless hives. Or weak hives that have swarmed, honeybound weak etc.

One of my yards is less than a half mile as the crow flies, in the middle of an open field, hard base clay soil, gets morning sun, and situated on a hedge row in the middle of the field. It seems to make all the difference in the world. I see shb in them from time to time but have had none to collapse.

After saying that I will probably lose them all :-D