The small hive beetle

[Anthony Appleyard]

There is a Wikipedia article about the small hive beetle :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_hive_beetle :: it was last edited at 23:31, 8 November 2019‎. It would be useful if you could bring the information in it up to date, and people would be glad to be kept up to date about developments by reading it. Anyone can edit Wikipedia articles.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Anyone can edit Wikipedia articles.

Exactly, and, a bit like the forum, any clown can post rubbish on there

 

[Erichalfbee]

There is a Wikipedia article about the small hive beetle :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_hive_beetle :: it was last edited at 23:31, 8 November 2019‎. It would be useful if you could bring the information in it up to date, and people would be glad to be kept up to date about developments by reading it. Anyone can edit Wikipedia articles.

Forget Wiki
Just ask here
You'll get the right answer eventually for most things

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

According to the Wikipedia article, the small hive beetle is only a minor pest back home in Africa, but became serious when it got out of its home range. Could it be that in Africa south of the Sahara there are other organisms that are natural enemies of the small hive beetle, which if brought to the USA might have a useful effect?

(Similarly to how that serious weed, Japanese knotweed, is not a serious pest back home in Japan.)

 

[Ian123]

According to the Wikipedia article, the small hive beetle is only a minor pest back home in Africa, but became serious when it got out of its home range. Could it be that in Africa south of the Sahara there are other organisms that are natural enemies of the small hive beetle, which if brought to the USA might have a useful effect?

(Similarly to how that serious weed, Japanese knotweed, is not a serious pest back home in Japan.)

The local bee is more adapted to it and there’s a few races

 

[For want of a better word]

According to the Wikipedia article, the small hive beetle is only a minor pest back home in Africa, but became serious when it got out of its home range. Could it be that in Africa south of the Sahara there are other organisms that are natural enemies of the small hive beetle, which if brought to the USA might have a useful effect?

(Similarly to how that serious weed, Japanese knotweed, is not a serious pest back home in Japan.)

Cautionary tale on this is the Cane Toad.... imported into Australia to control the imported cane weevil pest... but although no doubt the Cane toad ate a few weevils it found a preferential native Australian prey animal and then became something of a pest itself.
Seems there are many other man made importation disasters, where inappropriate species are brought in and have a negative outcome!
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/ar...nvasive-species-when-pest-control-goes-wrong/
Chons da

 

[understanding_bees]

Cautionary tale on this is the Cane Toad.... imported into Australia to control the imported cane weevil pest... but although no doubt the Cane toad ate a few weevils it found a preferential native Australian prey animal and then became something of a pest itself.

The cane toad "became something of a pest itself". This would have to be the understatement of the century - well its not quite a century since they were introduced, but I am sure that you will get what I mean! Cane toads are a very significant problem, and have in recent times succeeded in crossing inhospitable country and reaching the Northern Territory.
How wonderful it might be to find natural predators for some of our pest species, for example small hive beetle, and varroa. I am sure that readers of this forum could think of others, because I have not tried to create a list. The problem is that biological control species often take a liking (in new environments) to species they have never encountered before, and they become pests themselves. That is what happened with the cane toads.
This kind of situation, where an introduced species becomes a problem itself, has happened far too often, and a great deal of research needs to be done before we can be confident that a biological control species will really do the intended job.
The following bit of information may be of interest to anyone who has not heard about the story of the cochineal insect, and the prickly pear cactus.
The control of prickly pear by the cactoblastis moth is still regarded as the world's most monumental example of successful pest plant repression by biological means. The insect was also utilised in other countries, and was again successful in controlling prickly pear.
You will no doubt be able to find a lot of information if you ask Dr Google to do a search for you.
Some other introductions (which I know of, and there are bound to be more) that have not gone to plan include:
Rabbits, and then foxes, into Australia from Britain.
Water buffalo into Northern Australia.
Release of camels in Australia when railways made camel trains uneconomic.
Introduction of Australian Eucalypt trees into South Africa where they are now considered to be invasive species.
Introduction of Australian possums into New Zealand, where they are now serious pests.
In this post to the forum, my intention has been to express caution about introducing biological control species unless very thorough testing has been done on all aspects of the biology of the intended control species.

 

[Apple]

Cautionary tale on this is the Cane Toad.... imported into Australia to control the imported cane weevil pest... but although no doubt the Cane toad ate a few weevils it found a preferential native Australian prey animal and then became something of a pest itself.
Seems there are many other man made importation disasters, where inappropriate species are brought in and have a negative outcome!
Top 10 invasive species: when pest control goes wrong
Chons da

I must have been on another planet.....

What is the current situation with the Small hive beetle?

I read somewhere that packages of bees from Europe and overseas are banned from January 2021, and that all imported queens must have their package/cage and workers sent off of analyses?
? VITA / DEFRA Laboratories????

 

[gmonag]

Anthony Appleyard is a bot. It is pointless to engage in discussion with him (it?).

 

[understanding_bees]

What is the current situation with the Small hive beetle?

We have small hive beetles in Victoria where I live. Not so long ago it was compulsory to advise the Victorian Department of Agriculture of any SHB infestations. Interestingly, SHB is now ubiquitous in Victoria, and notification to the Dept Ag is no longer required.
I found a claim on another posting to this forum that SHB spread by about 2 miles per year!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is not correct. It appears that SHB can detect the scent of a hive from a great distance, and that they fly bigger distances than foraging bees do. They have no difficulty in entering a hive. Their exoskeleton is tough enough that bees cannot sting them, and their size, though small, is too big for bees to bite them.
Just today I was doing some manipulation of a hive, and saw a small hive beetle on the solid floor of the hive. SHB are very nimble little critters, and the bees actively chase them. In this instance a number of bees were chasing this beetle, which was trying to avoid them. No sooner had the beetle dodged to escape one bee when another bee took over the chase, and so it continued until I "put the beetle out of its misery".
I have done as much enquiry into the habits of SHB as I could, and have discovered a strategy to control SHB in a hive. SHB do not like to be chased by bees. It seems that the bees "enjoy" chasing the beetles, but In my opinion the bees have better things to do, such as collecting nectar, pollen, etc. It is for this reason that my thoughts have led me to design a beetle trap at the back of the hive, and this has proved spectacularly successful.
It appears that SHB is a more significant problem in warmer temperate areas, especially where humidity is high. The SHB problem in Melbourne is not nearly as severe as it is in northern Victoria, and New South Wales, but it is even worse in Queensland. Letters to this forum, from UK beekeepers, seem to have indicated that SHB is not, or may not, be a significant problem for them - I do not know what UK situation is like, with regard to SHB.
What I do know is that my beetle trap design is more effective than many other traps, especially those which sit on the top of honey frames. There are no chemicals involved, except for the oil which ensures that trapped beetles drown in it - I have used sunflower oil, but canola, olive, or other similar vegetable oil could be used.
If anyone is interested in my SHB-trap / hive-floor design, please contact me via the private message facility that this forum provides.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Letters to this forum, from UK beekeepers, seem to have indicated that SHB is not, or may not, be a significant problem for them - I do not know what UK situation is like, with regard to SHB


If anyone is interested in my SHB-trap / hive-floor design, please contact me via the private message facility that this forum provides.

There is no Beetle in the U.K.

But please do share your trap design on open forum

 

[pargyle]

There is no Beetle in the U.K.

But please do share your trap design on open forum

Yet ... but the way the planet is going ... it's only a matter of time ... the Asian Hornet is trying very hard to get across the channel.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yet ... but the way the planet is going ... it's only a matter of time ... the Asian Hornet is trying very hard to get across the channel.

Yes some areas are more at risk than others. It would take some beetle to cope with the clay we have here

 

[Antipodes]

As I was just tucking into a Queensland mango, I remembered that the beetles "can feed and develop normally and complete all life cycle stages on fruit such as avocado, cantaloupe (melon or cucurbit family) and grapefruit. The beetle also feeds on bananas, pineapple, grapes and mango." (DPIRD West Aust. Gov.)
I think it first came into Australia on fruit, not on bees or beehive components.

 

[Antipodes]

There is no Beetle in the U.K.

But please do share your trap design on open forum

The suspicion here is that the beetle came to Aus. in fruit brought in by participants in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 but was not officially detected until 2002 by which time it was too late.

 

[understanding_bees]

There is no Beetle in the U.K.

But please do share your trap design on open forum

Please do not be complacent, and think that SHB is a minor problem. It is certainly a much more serious problem in warm and humid areas than it is in cooler locations. From that point of view, it seems that at least some people in the UK have little concern about SHB. There is an interesting and informative article about SHB, including videos, at: Small hive beetle « Bee Aware
Even in cooler climates, SHB are more active in the Summer and autumn months, and they benefit from the warmth that they find inside beehives.
The beetles themselves do little damage to the bees, but they distract the bees from their normal duties. The larvae, on the other hand, do major damage by destroying combs and honey. When this happens, there is the likelihood of the bees absconding. Any effective control of SHB must include (or concentrate on?) trapping and killing beetles before they lay their eggs.

 

[understanding_bees]

But please do share your trap design on open forum

Thank you Dani for your interest. First, please let me give a little bit of background. After I first tested my beehive base which incorporated the SHB trap, I contacted Professor Madelaine Beekman at Sydney University. She worked with Thomas Seeley who wrote the book "Honeybee Democracy". She was very encouraging in her response to me. Subsequently, I lent a number of my SHB trap bases to a beekeeper who has many hives so that he could evaluate them. He agreed that these traps worked well.
I am pasting below part of the text of my letter to Professor Beekman in October 2019:
In my studies to become a caring beekeeper, I have found numerous references to the problems which can be caused by Small Hive Beetles.
I have spent some time thinking about existing methods of trapping these beetles, and about other possible methods. As result, I have had some ideas for a different approach, and have designed - and made - hive bases which have my design incorporated into them.
I wish to report a degree of success which causes me some excitement, and would like to talk with people who can evaluate what I seem to have discovered.
I have two hives, and have these SHB trap bases under them. In each instance, a number of beetles was caught within the first 24 hours, but the total number of beetles caught in an individual trap did not continue to increase as the days went by.
The first hive I procured was in a 10-frame deep box, but I have decided that I wish to establish my colonies in 8-frame boxes. When I reconfigured this hive, with my SHB trap base, I completed the task by about 4PM on the particular day. The next morning, about 10AM, I checked the trap to see whether any beetles had been caught. I was pleased to see that the trap had caught 15 beetles, and I wondered how many more beetles might be in the hive. A couple of days later I checked the trap again, but there were still only 15 dead beetles in the trap. It is now more than a week since I installed this trap, and there are still only 15 beetles in the trap.
I have been thinking about why the number of dead beetles is still the same, and I think it might mean that ALL of the beetles in the hive were caught during the first night. If that is a correct interpretation of the result, that makes me think that my design is fully as successful as I could have ever hoped it might be. I am interested in talking with experienced apiarists, to see whether they agree that my design is worth evaluation.
= = = =

 

[understanding_bees]

But please do share your trap design on open forum

My "Better Beetle Trap" design is shown in the accompanying drawing, and photographs.
First, let me say to all those doubters in recent discussions, that I am very happy with my paraffin waxed hive boxes made from 25mm plywood.
The actual beetle trap is at the rear of the hive base. It works very well. I believe that the explanation involves several features. The actual entrance for the bees is a little lower than the actual floor, and therefore it is quite dark inside, especially at the back of the hive. (I know that it is probably darkest between the honey frames, but that is not the first place that beetles can access.) Beetles like to run away to the darkest places they can find. The bees love to chase them. It is almost impossible to stop beetles from entering a hive. At least one trap design tries to stop them at the entrance, but you cannot guarantee that every beetle will be stopped. If even ONE beetle gets inside, and is not caught, there is the danger that it may succeed in laying eggs in the hive. It is so important to catch and kill any beetles which do get inside. If a beetle does get inside, and the bees start to chase it, the beetle is most likely to go to the rear of the hive base before it will attempt to climb the hive wall, which it would need to do to gain access to the honey frames (unless there is burr comb which the beetle could climb). As a result of being chased in this way, the beetles find refuge by climbing through the slots in the metal strip at the rear of the hive floor. But what do they find? Its a swimming pool for beetles, with oil, from which they cannot escape.

As a result of very little chasing activity being required, the bees are able to resume their appointed tasks. And it seems that the bees actually succeed in chasing EVERY beetle which enters the hive.

The photographs I have attached include a view of five beetles which were chased by the bees overnight. I cleaned the oil-trap-trough yesterday afternoon, and took the photograph this morning. SHB are active in Melbourne at the moment. I would rather have the beetles resting in peace in the beetle trap, than trying to lay eggs in the honeycomb!

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Nematodes or Bacillus controls anyone?

 

[Erichalfbee]

My "Better Beetle Trap" design is shown in the accompanying drawing, and photographs.

Ingenious.
I am not complacent about SHB just realistic.
I have friends who beekeep in California and in Australia and they just get on with it or give up, just as we will here
When Beetles were discovered in Calabria you could see the steam coming out of BBKA and NBU offices and a little indeed emanated from here. Some people got into a real lather over it and of course importing bees. That all settled down and Vespa velutina came along and more lathers ensued but these have reduced to a low rumbling with the odd peak of activity now and again.