Strange larvae on bottom board

[Drone]

Hey There!

In the last couple of days I have been seeing strange larvae on the “front porch”. They look like white inch worms, but they are only about 3/8” -1/4”.

I only noticed them after a MAJOR inspection and cleanup of a used (and abused) hive we rescued over the winter. See my recent “Feeding question” post for all the gory details.

We removed about 2 pounds of burr comb from this hive, which of course disturbed a lot of capped brood, drone brood, etc. I felt like a butcher hacking off all of this nice comb, but it was the only way to make this hive inspectable (is that a word?).

I also saw, and killed (as many as I could) bunches of hive beetles. I would guess that I killed 35+ beetles. I assume that what I’m seeing are beetle larvae, but I would like to hear what someone with a bit more experience has to say.

I’m not sure why they are gathering on the porch; perhaps to get a little suntan since they’re quite pale. May the comb hacking and my Mite Away (formic acid) treatment is causing a mass exodus?

It looks like my new hive is giving me a crash course on pest management.

Thanks!

-John

[Jerrymac]

I also saw, and killed (as many as I could) bunches of hive beetles. I would guess that I killed 35+ beetles. I assume that what I’m seeing are beetle larvae, but I would like to hear what someone with a bit more experience has to say.

That is what I would say they are. But I have never seen any except in pictures somewhere here in the forums.

[TwT]

that's what I would say also, some SHB  larva will fall out of the cells on inspection, here's a picture   http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/pest&disease/sl58a.html , if you look close SHB larvae has 3 set of legs up front by its head..

[Drone]

Yup, looks like SHB larva.

Thanks for the link TwT, but I must say, some of those pictures were just plain nasty.

SHB traps are my next purchase. These unwelcome invaders must die. :evil:

Thanks!

-John

[Michael Bush]

Small hive beetle larvae hive spikes on their back and are tough.  Wax moth larvae do not and are soft and squishy.  Which one are they?  Look up the pictures on the web for SHB larvae and wax moth larvae.

[Drone]

Huh. Actually these look more like the wax moth larvae than the SHB larvae.

I guess I just assumed that they were SHB because of all the beetles I was killing.

I'll have to take a closer look at them later today. Oh, and of course I will need to perform the squish test. :evil:

Thanks Michael!

[drobbins]

hopefully they're wax moths
shb are a much bigger problem
what part of Raleigh ya in?

Dave

[Drone]

Yup. Upon further inspection, I do believe that what I am seeing is wax moth larvae.

It appears that the bees are removing them from the hive. I wonder if my weekend comb busting cleanup exposed a lot of larvae to the bees, or do they just emerge at a certain time of year?

Oh well. One more pest to deal with.

Dave - I'm on the north east side, near New Hope and Marsh Creek Rd. I stumbled on to your site a while back, and I was wanting to get more details on your OA vaporizer (cool site, BTW).

Thanks!

-John

[drobbins]

John

I'm straight north of town up by Falls Lake
are you a member of the local club?
if so I'll bring a vaporizer to the meeting

Dave

[Drone]

Yikes!

I checked on the hive this morning and there were 12 wax moth larvae on the landing board. They must have been dragged out overnight since they weren't there yesterday at sunset.

Since the temps were in the low 30's last night, I assume they are dead. At least they will be if they're still there when I get home from work :evil:.

The girls seem to be doing a good job of clearing them out, but why so many? I usually only see one or two, if any.

Is this just the time when the eggs hatch and there will be a lot of these for a while? The hive is full and strong; will the girls be able to deal with these little monsters by themselves?

Between the mites, beetles and moths messin' with my bees, I'm starting to get mad :-x.

-John

Hey Dave - I'll be at the meeting next Tuesday. I look forward to meeting you if you show up! I'll be there with my wife, probably hanging out with my new friend Frank. If you don't know him, listen for the guy with the heavy Long Island/Bronx accent. It kind of stands out in a room full of Southern beekeepers, if you know what I mean.