Bad thing but good thing

[CBEE]

Bad thing.. saw what looked like a wax moth worm laying in front of the hive yesterday :evil:
Good thing ... it was laying in front of the hive dead.
I have not been able to do anything but pull the inner cover because of the screwy weather we have had and it is supposed to rain the next 5 days or so. When I did pop the top last week there were plenty of bees and no signs of a problem.
Is it normal to see them this early ? I would have thought the winter would have killed them or could the bees keep the hive warm enough for them not to freeze ?

[DennisB]

Maybe it is possible that it has been in there for a bit and they just had a chance to clean it out. It appears that mine are just now really getting the urge to clean things up and get ready for the good weather more so than before.

DennisB

[annette]

I am always happy when I see a few of these wax moth larvae thrown out of the hive. Means the girls are strong enough to take charge of the situation and keep these varmits away. Good sign as long as you know the hive has many bees and they are looking good.

Annette

[Understudy]

Seeing them on the landing is much better than seeing them in the comb.

Once the weather clears up take a look.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[CBEE]

I will definately dig into it as soon as the weather allows. I believe the hive is strong enough to keep them at bay. It's a little frustrating knowing there could be a problem and not be able to get in there and see whats really going on without building a tent over the hive. We are now on track to possibly have the wettest march on record. If it's not raining its cold and if its not cold it's raining :evil:

[Jerrymac]

OK all you folks with all this rain get out yous fans and blow those clouds over to us that aren't getting any rain

[dlmarti]

Does anyone have a picture of a wax moth larvae?

I found a dead larvae on my bottom board about a week ago.

[DrKurtG]

I found this on Google image. Hope it helps...

[poka-bee]

EEwww gross! I hope I don't find any when I get my bees....looks like chix & guinea snax! :roll:

[jimmyo]

It could be last fall's waxworm.  We don't have wax moth problems untill june around here.  Could it be a bee larvae?  sometimes they get chilled and die. Then the house bees haul them out.
  Jim 

[dlmarti]

The larvae I found was thin, it sort of looked like a yellowish-white inch worm

[Michael Bush]

If you're going to keep bees.  You're going to see a lot of wax moth larvae over the years.

[bassman1977]

You're going to see a lot of wax moth larvae over the years.

Where there's wax worms, there's fishing  :-D

[Michael Bush]

And, of course, the two best times to go fishing are when it's raining and when it's not.

[CBEE]

What's that faint whisper I hear ? Oh, It's all those big slab sided crappie saying come and catch me. :-D

[Scadsobees]

Where there's wax worms, there's fishing  :-D

I've never found a hook small enough to impale the spindely little buggers in my hive.  I find that pre-emergent drones work better.... :-D

[hellbenthoneybee]

I am always happy when I see a few of these wax moth larvae thrown out of the hive. Means the girls are strong enough to take charge of the situation and keep these varmits away. Good sign as long as you know the hive has many bees and they are looking good.

Annette

So if these little jerks get into the hive, The bees will take care of the problem?  Or do you have to moniter and take action?

[Jerrymac]

A strong hive is the answer to a lot of problems.

[Brian D. Bray]

A strong hive is the answer to a lot of problems.

SHB, wax moths, chill brood, and even mites to a point.  Bees will repair wax damaged by wax moth larvae unless it has caccoons strung through it--the bees won't clean up the caccoons.  A stronger hive is also a more hygenic hive but having bees with hygenic behavior and being strong besides works even better.

[Pond Creek Farm]

The white bass are starting to run here.  I am sure they would hit on wax moth worms. The tube jigs I use look remarkably similar to the picture from google.