Ideas on shb?

tireman · July 06, 2014, 10:21:48 PM

I currently have six hives. They range from deep singles to double deeps with double mediums on top. Two hives have much more shb's than the others. My good hives i only see one or two. the bad effected hives, i kill at least ten per hive. Besides size, all the boxes are strong and full of bees. Why are some hives affected and the others aren't? Btw, they are in the same place and all are partially shaded.thanks

iddee · July 06, 2014, 10:37:58 PM

1.. The more shade, the more SHB.

2.. The more empty space in the hive, the more SHB.

3.. The more small areas for them to hide, the more SHB.

sc-bee · July 06, 2014, 10:53:41 PM

IMHO ten shb are not shb...... If I worried about ten shb I would be standing there all day with a hive tool :-D And where are the ten sequestered in the top when you open the hive? That is where you want them.

Joe D · July 07, 2014, 12:44:14 AM

You don't see many in a strong hive, the weaker the hive the more problems you will see. If they have to much room in the hive shb's can get away easier also. I am like you, I don't want to see ten in a hive either. So far this year in going though my five hives I have only seen 2 or 3 shb's total. Mine are really strong colonies this year. Good luck

Joe

sc-bee · July 07, 2014, 05:37:36 PM

Nothing to find ten sequester in the top of the hive in these parts......corralled in the corners by the bees.

Joe D · July 08, 2014, 10:11:19 PM

When I first got my bees, established hives, they were full of SHB's, they were also full of bees. I have managed to be the number of shb's down, and the bees seem to help keep them out. I also moved the hives to a new location last summer. But I had the shb's numbers down pretty good before moving them. I had 1 have last year that had 6 to 10 shb's the rest were 0 to 3. Maybe just lucky this year. It's nice to not see any or many.

Joe

capt44 · July 08, 2014, 10:41:14 PM

I'm in Central Arkansas and have several hives.
Small hive beetles are just starting to be a problem here.
I've had 2 weaker hives that looked good on Sunday and Wednesday afternoon they were hundreds of small hive beetle larva that had completely destroyed on foundation.
I've got the bees in a new hive but this year they're hitting fast and hard.
I talked to several beekeepers to tell them to look out for the small hive beetles.
4 called back the next day and said some of their hives are all but dead now, infested with beetle larva.
I'm using Beetle Barns with pieces of Check Mite Strips.

sc-bee · July 09, 2014, 08:22:12 AM

They can be in particular devastating to a split or a hive that has thrown a late season swarm.

BeeMaster2 · July 09, 2014, 12:49:59 PM

Capt,
The biggest problem is that your bees have not developed the genetics to control the SHBs. Just like when the wax moths were introduced to the US in the late 1800s. The best thing to do is to add SBB with oil trays and STB to your hives until your bees develop the right genetics. You will find with the STBs that if you lift the lids every day you can kill a lot of beetles that are trapped up there. Be sure to put 1/8 " slots in the sides above the window screen for them to smell the hive and to get in it. With as many hives as you have, if they all had them, you will devastate the local SHB population quick.
With the Screen Top Boards you can open one about an hour before dusk and stand there and kill about a hundred or more in an hour. They land almost non stop and you crush them with your finger.
Jim

sc-bee · July 09, 2014, 01:16:38 PM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 09, 2014, 12:49:59 PM
With as many hives as you have, if they all had them, you will devastate the local SHB population quick.

All due respect.... seriously?? If were only that simple?

sterling · July 09, 2014, 01:55:41 PM

As has already been said your bees must not be accustom to dealing with SHBs. The best thing I have found is SBB with oil trays. Don't know how many hives you have or what kind of bottom board but the oil trays are worth the effort to make and install if the beetles are bad. I just use hydrated lime in most of mine now but if a hive gets to having a problem with the beetles I will put veggie oil in the tray and keep the colony crowded with bees.

Jim134 · July 09, 2014, 03:37:18 PM

Quote from: capt44 on July 08, 2014, 10:41:14 PM
I'm in Central Arkansas and have several hives.
Small hive beetles are just starting to be a problem here.
I've had 2 weaker hives that looked good on Sunday and Wednesday afternoon they were hundreds of small hive beetle larva that had completely destroyed on foundation.
I've got the bees in a new hive but this year they're hitting fast and hard.
I talked to several beekeepers to tell them to look out for the small hive beetles.
4 called back the next day and said some of their hives are all but dead now, infested with beetle larva.
I'm using Beetle Barns with pieces of Check Mite Strips.

You may not realize this the active ingredient of checkmite+ strips (Coumaphos) has been linked to killing sperm inside mated Queens which will show up as a shotgun pattern or a drone layer. I did hear this from Jeff Pettis of the USDA bee lab Beltsville Maryland about 3 years or so. I do hope this is not your experience.

BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

BeeMaster2 · July 09, 2014, 08:48:56 PM

Quote from: sc-bee on July 09, 2014, 01:16:38 PM
Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 09, 2014, 12:49:59 PM
With as many hives as you have, if they all had them, you will devastate the local SHB population quick.

All due respect.... seriously?? If were only that simple?

That has been my and a relatively close beeks experience. We were killing thousands of beetles in our hives with the oil trays and STB and then their numbers seriously declined. Last year we both stopped using oil in the traps with no problems.
After I brought the hives home from the farm this spring, I they swarmed my hives with more beetles than I have seen for a while. After 3 weeks with the oil back on, they are back to low levels again. I am leaving the trays empty (dry) now as I clean them.
Jim

sc-bee · July 12, 2014, 07:02:53 AM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 09, 2014, 08:48:56 PM
Quote from: sc-bee on July 09, 2014, 01:16:38 PM
Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 09, 2014, 12:49:59 PM
With as many hives as you have, if they all had them, you will devastate the local SHB population quick.

All due respect.... seriously?? If were only that simple?

That has been my and a relatively close beeks experience. We were killing thousands of beetles in our hives with the oil trays and STB and then their numbers seriously declined. Last year we both stopped using oil in the traps with no problems.
After I brought the hives home from the farm this spring, I they swarmed my hives with more beetles than I have seen for a while. After 3 weeks with the oil back on, they are back to low levels again. I am leaving the trays empty (dry) now as I clean them.
Jim

Maybe I misunderstood. I interpreted devastate the local population as in your the area surrounding your hives not just your hives your yard. Sure killing in your hive however the method helps that hive. But plenty to replace them at least here. Maybe because of rotting peaches and melons in the area?

BeeMaster2 · July 12, 2014, 08:12:34 AM

SC,
One of the great things about the SBB is that it not only kills the beetles but it is also killing their larvae when they are ready to pupate, they try to drop out of the hive to get into the ground and land in the oil. It stops the entire life cycle. The other in hive traps do not. We do not have a lot of fruit on the ground here. As their name suggests, their preferred breeding site is your hives. With every hive in an area drawing them in, and they do, and almost every SHB and their off spring ending up in the oil, it really devastates the population with a lot of hives.
When I started, within a months time, every oil tray would be solid black with dead SHBs (thousands of SHB). Right now I have several of the trays that have had oil in them for almost a month and the worst one might have a hundred beetles in it. As I clean them out they will go back in dry. Then I just check them every few days and kill the beetles and larvae in the tray and dump out the pollen and trash because the larvae can develop in it.
Last year we (the beeks in this area) did not use oil because their numbers were so low. Maybe that is why they were heavy when I brought them back into town this year.
Jim

sc-bee · July 12, 2014, 11:02:08 AM

I realize their preferred place we think. is the hive. So what do they do if they have no hives to support them. They do what every other creature does, they adapt. Don't let it fool you. they love rotten fruit. Especially in the melon family. Although I am sure they will choose the pollen and honey first :(

Intheswamp · July 12, 2014, 11:50:26 AM

Is the shb's first choice melon patches or bee hives? Naturally, in hives used to pollinate melon fields the beetles will show up in the hives first...the melons have not ripened and no rotting ones are in the field yet.

But, I wonder if in the wild whether the shb first fed off of fruits or honey bee products from a bee tree. We call them "small hive beetles" probably because we are beekeepers and first encountered them in our bee hives. What about the melon growers? Did they first attack hives and then went to fruits as a secondary food source...or is it the opposite?

Seems I read that the first beetles arrived in North America via a freighter with a load of fruit...not with bees.

Ed

sc-bee · July 12, 2014, 02:52:53 PM

The first SHB were collected in Charleston Sc in 1996. And yes Charleston id a Port City. I imagine they came in on a ship and I doubt it had beehives on it, but I don't know. I could see bee hive coming in on the West Coast but never heard of it in Charleston.

I am sure the farmers pay them no mind as they feast on rotting fruit. On the other hand we nickname them Small Hive Beetle as they affect us totally different. They like a bee hive but I don't know if prefer is the right word. Basically I think shb are just opportunistic and the hive happens to be there. I can not see the range of the shb being as wide as it is if they don't feast on other sources. Just not enough beekeeping in my area to support an ongoing growing population. Of course most of this is just MHO :-D

Intheswamp · July 13, 2014, 01:41:40 AM

I read somewhere that in harvested melon fields where the bad fruit is left to rot that there will be small clouds of beetles flying there.

The problem may be that the rotting fruit only lasts so long before it's gone, then the beetles seek other food. Beehives are year-long sources of food for the beetles so naturally they home in on the hives. :-x

It has been interesting this year, I'm almost scared to mention it...very low beetle counts. I'm wondering if the icestorm had something to do with lowering their numbers down here.... :? :)

Ed

BeeMaster2 · July 13, 2014, 07:37:22 AM

I have no doubt that they reproduce in the rotting fruit.
One problem I see is that they cannot survive in most temperate climates with out hives to keep them warm in the winter. If the ground freezes, they do not survive. That is why we here in the south have the worst problem with them. I do not know of any other place other than the hive that they can survive freezing weather.
Jim