Wax Moth Larvae

Moonshae · August 12, 2007, 09:53:49 AM

I put my trays in to get a 3-day natural mine fall count, and good news on that front, I didn't see any. However, I did see quite a number of wax moth larvae. When I did my inspection last week, I didn't see any evidence of moth larvae or damage. Could they infest that quickly, or am I finding them in the tray because the bees are doing a good job of getting them out?

pdmattox · August 12, 2007, 10:19:17 AM

I personaly think the explosion of wax moths and hive disaster is about to happen by what you are describing.
you may have to much room for them to keep pests out or just a weak colony. In my experince when you get to the stage you are at It does'nt take long before they abscound the hive. You may be able to save them by moving the frames of brood and a honey frame to a nuc box so they dont have to much area to gaurd.
good luck and hope it all works out.

Moonshae · August 12, 2007, 10:27:50 AM

I'm not sure that is the case...the hive is only two deeps, and is packed full of bees. There were maybe a dozen larvae in the tray.

JP · August 12, 2007, 12:59:59 PM

Moonshae, I'm not saying you have a weak hive, but super strong hives will fight off wmoths which yours seem to be doing. Wax moths are capitalists and will take any advantage. I don't know what's going on in that hive but something ocurred for wmoth to invade. Sometimes it could be that the bees weren't covering an area of the hive, or too much space has been alotted, as pdmattox has pointed out. Also, make sure the hive is queen right. You will need to monitor this hive very closely. Wmoth can move in and take over in a blink of an eye.

Moonshae · August 12, 2007, 07:06:50 PM

I was planning to take a few frames and make a nuc from this hive on Tuesday, so hopefully two more days won't hurt. I don't have the equipment to do it any sooner, so it'll have to wait, regardless.

I have two queens coming that day, too, so if I don't find a queen or signs of her, I'll be ready to deal with that, too.

Mici · August 12, 2007, 07:09:35 PM

i think that's just normal, at least i observed the same. the tray might be inside the hive(a STRONG hive) for only one day and i can see many moth larvae, if it's more than 1 day, you get to see cocoons.

but i haven't had real issues with wax moths to be clear.

Robo · August 13, 2007, 08:48:18 AM

Is the tray above or below the screen? If it is below the screen, that is one of the draw backs to SBB. The pollen, wax, and general hive garbage falls thru the screen where the bees can't access. This becomes a safe haven paradise for wax moths to breed. Security and food continuously falling from the sky, who could ask for more :-D

If the tray is above the screen, then yes, you may have a problem.

Mici · August 13, 2007, 09:27:45 AM

hummm, if the tray isn't below the screen, what good does it do?
if and when mites fall onto it, bees will clean it. just can't imagine how one could use a tray above the screen.

Cindi · August 13, 2007, 10:23:42 AM

Robo, you keep making some very good points about some things with the bees. My husband has converted all my solid bottomboards to screened bottomboards, with a wood frame surrounding on the bottom so I can slide in sticky boards, or a piece of something to keep the bees a little warmer in the wintertime.

YOu are speaking about the debris that comes out of the hives and falls to the ground with the SBB. That is a valid concern. Now I guess I am heading out to a different agenda around my hives, picking up the debris that has fallen to the ground. It would be a perfect breeding place for yucky things. I am of the belief anyways, that keeping the bees areas clean can do nothing but good for them. Have a wonderful day, great life. Cindi

Robo · August 13, 2007, 11:02:26 AM

Quote from: Mici on August 13, 2007, 09:27:45 AM
hummm, if the tray isn't below the screen, what good does it do?
if and when mites fall onto it, bees will clean it. just can't imagine how one could use a tray above the screen.

Some people use sticky boards on top of the bottom board for mite drop counts.

Robo · August 13, 2007, 11:05:51 AM

Quote from: Cindi on August 13, 2007, 10:23:42 AM
YOu are speaking about the debris that comes out of the hives and falls to the ground with the SBB. That is a valid concern.

With them open and the debris falling to the ground, the ants do a good job of keeping things cleaned up (another reason not to kill the ants if they aren't bothering your hives). It is when you put the tray in place that it becomes the haven for wax moths. When I used SBB, I routinely saw wax moth larvae living below the screen.

Moonshae · August 13, 2007, 12:53:22 PM

I reversed my solid BB (entrance to the back) and put the screened one on top of that with the correct orientation, so the entrance was the same, but have my access to the space between from the back of the hive. The tray slides in on top of the solid BB under the SBB from the back. There was a bit of pollen, wax debris, etc down there. I don't keep the trays in place so air can circulate through there.

Things don't fall out to the ground because of the board, but I have considered putting sticky boards in there and changing them once in a while to remove the debris. That said, I noticed a few stuck bees on my trays after 3 days, and I wouldn't want to catch too many of them on a sticky board they could more easily access.

Robo · August 13, 2007, 01:53:48 PM

Quote from: Moonshae on August 13, 2007, 12:53:22 PM
I reversed my solid BB (entrance to the back) and put the screened one on top of that with the correct orientation, so the entrance was the same, but have my access to the space between from the back of the hive. The tray slides in on top of the solid BB under the SBB from the back. There was a bit of pollen, wax debris, etc down there. I don't keep the trays in place so air can circulate through there.

Things don't fall out to the ground because of the board, but I have considered putting sticky boards in there and changing them once in a while to remove the debris. That said, I noticed a few stuck bees on my trays after 3 days, and I wouldn't want to catch too many of them on a sticky board they could more easily access.

BINGO! That space between the SBB and solid BB is the wax moth haven I described above. As long as your hive is healthy, I wouldn't worry about it. Get yourself a long handled scrapper and clean it out every once in a while if your worried.

Moonshae · August 13, 2007, 04:19:23 PM

Quote from: Robo on August 13, 2007, 01:53:48 PM
BINGO! That space between the SBB and solid BB is the wax moth haven I described above. As long as your hive is healthy, I wouldn't worry about it. Get yourself a long handled scrapper and clean it out every once in a while if your worried.

I will be happy to clean it out. I'm not worried (now!), but I don't want to give them a haven to jump off from if the hive struggles a bit somewhere down the road. Allowing the easy existence of pests seems like a problem waiting to happen.

Cindi · August 14, 2007, 02:57:58 PM

Robo. Thinking. Yep, I have those teeny tiny little ants around the apiary. I bet that they do do a good job of cleanup and it keeps them out of the hives. Good thoughts. Best of this beautiful day. Cindi