If you have been following along on my bee keeping adventures, you will know that I caught not one, but two swarms in the Spring. See how I caught a swarm in my trap here. When I was putting the second swarm into a hive box I couldn’t help but notice a lot of small hive beetles running around inside the swarm trap with the bees. Small hive beetles are one of the many pests that bees have to deal with today. I have had more than one wise bee keeper tell me that,
“This is not your Grandpa’s method of bee keeping. Bees have many more pests and diseases to combat than the bees of yester-years.”
The small hive beetle lays her eggs in the hive. When the larvae hatch they have to burrow into the soft ground to turn into a little hard shelled beetle. Having a hive in the shade makes it especially vulnerable to this pest as they need soft moist ground to pupate. After their transformation into a beetle they make it up into the hive by squeezing into the littlest crevice or flying in. They are after a fast and easy meal of pollen and honey. Beetle larvae may tunnel through combs of honey, feeding and defecating, causing discoloration and fermentation of the honey. If a beetle infestation is sufficiently heavy, they may cause bees to abandon their hive.
When I went to check on my new hive of girls, to my horror I found more hive beetles in the hive than bees! Thank goodness I have great bee keeping friends on my side. With their advice we were able to defeat this pest and get the hive on good footing again. I learned so much through this experience and I hope that you will too. Watch the video and find out how we worked together with the bees to corral these pests to their doom!
Oh dear! I am forwarding this video to my husband. He was just telling me that we had quite a few in one of our hives. Thanks for the info.
🙂 gwingal
Oh no! I’m sorry you had such an infestation. So far I’ve only seen two since spring but I’m constantly worrying about finding them. I read about someone who put a concrete pad under his hives to foil the SHB.
Thank you for the information on hive beetles. It will definitely be very helpful. I am glad you discovered yours before your bees were impacted.
Thanks so much for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop. We’ve featured you tomorrow on the Hop! We hope to see you there again.
You are welcome Nikki. So glad I could help!
Dash
Hi Kathi, I am glad you haven’t had a problem with SHB. Now you know what to do if you see them. I would order a few traps and lime to have on hand just in case. Although if your hive is in the sun maybe you won’t have to deal with it. I love seeing your bee keeping adventures! Keep up the good work.
Blessings, Dash
Glad I could help Tracy. I really love teaching others from my mistakes. I have learned so much from watching others stumble on their homesteads.
Blessings, Dash
Hi Kelly, I am so excited to be featured. I saw your new book when I visited your site. I will get one. Congratulations!
Blessings, Dash