Little beetles in top of hive

[edric]

Hi guys, I opened up the hive today and between the telescoping top and the insulation top I found two small round black beetles in the corner, two bees were trying to run them off, so I gave them a hand and knocked them off the hive onto the lawn, is this a problem? thanks, Ed

[Satch]

Welcome to the world of the small hive beetle.  Should've smushed them.

Go through your hive and you will find several more.  Nasty buggers

[Intheswamp]

Well, under some conditions they can destroy the hive.

You need to install some beetle traps of some sort.  For inside the hive I use "Beetle Jail Baitable"... http://beetlejail.com/store/index.php?route=product/category&path=39 . These are re-useable traps that work great.  There are other similar traps of different brands that work well, also.

I also use oil tray traps beneath some of my hives (working towards getting all of my hives with oil trays under them).  The tray sits beneath a screened bottom board so that beetles running/hiding from bees go through the screen to escape but instead fall into the oil and die.  Vegetable oil and mineral oil are the two most often used oils...I personally prefer mineral oil as it doesn't attrack ants or four-legged critters.  I use the same mineral oil in the Beetle Jails.

You definitely want to watch the beetle situation as they are very bad for the bees.  If they get a foothold where they can lay eggs in the comb and there isn't enough bees to clean all the eggs out then when they hatch the larvae will bore through the comb, eating pollen, honey, brood as they go...and leaving a nasty "slime" (excrement) behind them.  It can get so disgusting for the bees that they will leave the hive even in times of the year when they don't have a chance of surviving.

The beetles are known as "small hive beetles" or "shb" for short.  Do a search here on the forum and you will find tons of conversations about them.

Best wishes,
Ed

[Intheswamp]

edric, below is a link to a post (with a link in it to another thread) I made about a simple modification to a screened bottom board to add an oil tray trap to it.  Omitting the piece of metal flashing and the triangular pieces for the inside the only things needed would be the side rails to elevate the bottom board 3/4", the two pieces of quarter-round for the tray lips to slide on, and the two little stops (scrap wood) at the front of the bottom board. 

Wood, a few nails, some Titebond III, a hammer, an appropriately sized tray, and a small hand saw makes up the supply and tool list. 

You want to make sure your hive is level (it should be anyhow) so that when you pour some oil in the tray that it is level across the bottom of the tray and not gathering to one edge or corner of the tray.  You only need to fill the tray 1/3 to 1/2 full of oil....you could go shallower if your hive is *really* level. ;)

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,44893.0.html

Ed

[sarahplusbees]

A hive full of bees can keep the SHB at bay, but once the bee population declines, or if there's too much empty space in the hive to patrol, the SHB can take over. There are lots of excellent practices for keeping SHB populations down, but there's no way to get rid of them (as the saying goes, if you have a hive, you have hive beetles). As a result, you must be ever vigilant in the fight against SHB. I recommend using a multi-faceted plan of attack, by setting traps, killing beetles whenever you see them, and making the hive less hospitable to SHB.

I would definitely recommend a trap similar to what Ed just described. Just make sure you change the oil frequently, and check it after rainfall to make sure no water got in the tray, you don't want it evaporating and dampening he whole hive. There are lots of other traps available, and all of them have pros and cons. Just pick one that works for you. the jist of it is something with a hole smaller than a bee but bigger than a SHB, so the SHB crawls in and either eats poison or (preferably) drowns in oil. I think oil traps are better because introducing toxic chemicals into a colony always makes me uneasy.

I am generally a peaceful person, I don't even swat at mosquitoes because I don't like to kill things, but let me tell you, I crush each and every SHB I see. Every time I'm in a hive and I see one skitter by. I stop whatever I'm doing and go full on seek and destroy. I even have a handy little beetle crushing stick for when my hive tool is too clumsy to get between the bees.  The simplest way to lower SHB populations is to kill em off one by one.

Finally, think about how you can arrange your hives to minimize SHM friendliness. Try to eliminate any cracks that are too small for bees to chase beetles through (though the bees will do this to, with propolis) make sure the bees have enough space in the hive to house their colony, but not so much space that they cannot easily patrol it for beetles. I've also heard that SHB tend to be less problematic for hives that get full sun for most of the day, but I don't know the science behind that.

The beetle larva seek out dirt under the hive (or in the bottom of the hive, if you've let enough stuff accumulate down there). They pupate in the ground and then crawl back into the hive to live and lay eggs. You can use this to your advantage by creating a space under the hive that is adverse to pupating beetles. Black rubber sheeting (like people use for pond liners) can absorb heat from the sun make the ground too warm for the larva to pupate. I've also heard that diatomaceous earth or even nematodes or chickens (which eat the larva) can help.

Remember also that SHB can fly just as far as bees to find new colonies to annoy, so your anti-SHB regime needs to be apiary-wide, not just specific to a single colony.

[jayj200]

a few months ago at or bee club meeting hall, out back we have two or three colonies.

on the two langs as they opened them there were hundreds on the top cover they smashed them all directly on the lid. until I remembered my organic gardening background I thought this dumb.

fast forward one month two upon opening these boxes nary a beetle to be found. why?

It seams making bug juice works. why? likely the same reason we dispose of animal carcasses. we don't let bodies rot either because of the spread of disease

[BeeMaster2]

I always try to remove as many beetles as possible during inspections. Sometimes it really makes a difference.
If you leave dead SHBs on the screen of the STB the bees will propalize them through the screen.
Jim

[Chick]

I have used Beetle Blasters, but they will not handle a heavy infestation. West SHB traps will work, but they have several issues. The latest version of the Freeman SHB trap has all the issues resolved. The West SHB trap works from the front, but you cannot clean it without taking the hive apart, plus, the tray is 5/16" smaller in width than the bottom board, so beetles can hide there. Plus, with the West trap in place, an entrance reducer is a challenge. And, the traps of the West traps, are very brittle. The Freeman trap has addressed all of these issues.