SHBs overwintering in hive.

[cao]

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For those who don't have a problem with these bleeping critters,  these are pictures from a couple of my deadouts.  The one is the center of the broodnest.  One is the bottom board of one of the hives.  And the last picture is where I smacked a frame on the 2x4 to dislodge the dead bees and beetles.  No on can tell me that SHBs don't kill hives.

[Ben Framed]

>cao "No one can tell me that SHBs don't kill hives."

I agree.

[BeeMaster2]

Not good.
I was hoping that SHBs would not survive as far north as you are.
We?re the SHBs also dead?  If it was below freezing after the hive died, the beetles should have died.
Jim Altmiller

[cao]

Yes they were all dead.  That was the only good thing about it.  I won't get behind this year on getting rid of them.  All my standard langs now have screen bottoms with pans under them.  They will have fresh oil in them as soon as it warms up enough to start doing inspections.  The bad thing about seeing this is I wonder how many beetles survived in my hives that made it through the winter.  After closer inspection of my deadouts, I found that there would be multiple beetles in each cell.  I counted 8 in one cell.  I also found a beetle packed beside a dead bee in a cell.  So it seems to me that the beetles have the run of the hive over winter.  The best thing you can do is get rid of them before it gets too late in the fall.

[Ben Framed]

Good stuff cao I have learned from you and I appreciate it.

[FatherMichael]

Dang, that's awful, cao!

It will be 80* tomorrow so I want to do the first inspection of the season.

Hope I don't find any hive beetle damage.