Wax moth treatment!

[Newbeeneil]

I see BBKA are on the ball again!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

toxic?

 

[Erichalfbee]

toxic?

Hilarious. What’s wrong with lethal?

 

[Newbeeneil]

What got me was that someone thought the use of BT was new!!!!!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What got me was that someone thought the use of BT was new!!!!!

well, fair play, they've not long progressed from flint and steel to using matches to light their smokers

 

[Sutty]

Reading this carefully it sounds like they are using old comb laced with BT as a lure to attract moths away from hives rather than treating the hives.
I guess that is a new approach.

Here's a link and an extract from the paper.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42946-4

Greater wax moth control in apiaries can be improved by combining Bacillus thuringiensis and entrapments​

• Bo Han,
• Li Zhang,
• …
• Pingli Dai

Show authors
Nature Communications volume 14, Article number: 7073 (2023) Cite this article

• 1972 Accesses
• 15 Altmetric
• Metricsdetails

Abstract​

The greater wax moth (GWM), Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a major bee pest that causes significant damage to beehives and results in economic losses. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) appears as a potential sustainable solution to control this pest. Here, we develop a novel Bt strain (designated BiotGm) that exhibits insecticidal activity against GWM larvae with a LC50 value lower than 2 μg/g, and low toxicity levels to honey bee with a LC50 = 20598.78 μg/mL for larvae and no observed adverse effect concentration = 100 μg/mL for adults. We design an entrapment method consisting of a lure for GWM larvae, BiotGm, and a trapping device that prevents bees from contacting the lure. We find that this method reduces the population of GWM larvae in both laboratory and field trials. Overall, these results provide a promising direction for the application of Bt-based biological control of GWM in beehives, although further optimization remain necessary.

 

[The Poot]

There’s also this - a drive to ban fipronil.……..just when it may become really useful

 

[Newbeeneil]

Reading this carefully it sounds like they are using old comb laced with BT as a lure to attract moths away from hives rather than treating the hives.
I guess that is a new approach.

Here's a link and an extract from the paper.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42946-4

Greater wax moth control in apiaries can be improved by combining Bacillus thuringiensis and entrapments​

• Bo Han,
• Li Zhang,
• …
• Pingli Dai

Show authors
Nature Communications volume 14, Article number: 7073 (2023) Cite this article

• 1972 Accesses
• 15 Altmetric
• Metricsdetails

Abstract​

The greater wax moth (GWM), Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a major bee pest that causes significant damage to beehives and results in economic losses. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) appears as a potential sustainable solution to control this pest. Here, we develop a novel Bt strain (designated BiotGm) that exhibits insecticidal activity against GWM larvae with a LC50 value lower than 2 μg/g, and low toxicity levels to honey bee with a LC50 = 20598.78 μg/mL for larvae and no observed adverse effect concentration = 100 μg/mL for adults. We design an entrapment method consisting of a lure for GWM larvae, BiotGm, and a trapping device that prevents bees from contacting the lure. We find that this method reduces the population of GWM larvae in both laboratory and field trials. Overall, these results provide a promising direction for the application of Bt-based biological control of GWM in beehives, although further optimization remain necessary.

OOOOPs,
looks like I should have done a bit of research before posting!
Thanks Sutty

 

[Sutty]

OOOOPs,
looks like I should have done a bit of research before posting!
Thanks Sutty

No problem
Possibly an easy technique to copy if it works

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

you honestly think they will just all go to the one 'decoy' box and ignore all the other brood combs lying around for the picking?

 

[Sutty]

you honestly think they will just all go to the one 'decoy' box and ignore all the other brood combs lying around for the picking?

Nope! But it may help.
I haven't had a problem with wax moth so far, but others (& in different areas) may do.

 

[Newbeeneil]

you honestly think they will just all go to the one 'decoy' box and ignore all the other brood combs lying around for the picking?

To be honest it’s probably easier to just spray the supers as I do now.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

you could actually just collect a load of cruddy old brood comb, make a little stack of it on a sturdy wood block in the middle of the apiary, then as all the ravenous waxmoth pile in to scoff it just smack them with a piece of 9x2" - a bit like a cleaner game of freckles (ask a naval rating to explain) - and this way you won't have to dabble with any of that horribly toxic Baccilus thuringiensis muck

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

that horribly toxic Baccilus thuringiensis muck

I can't quite picture your method JBM, but my guess is that the problem of wax moth is much worse in this part of the country, and I'm not sure how successful it would be here.

Like others on here, I make up a spray with Tobuxus XenTari which (I think) uses the same subspecies/strain as Certan B401. It's sold as safe for killing caterpillars on lettuces. No doubt the caterpillars would describe it as horribly toxic muck!

 

[masterBK]

The use of old comb as wax moth bait is not new. I have been doing it for decades ( I have been keeping bees since 1959 and setting up bait hives since 1974) . In early spring I remove any empty grotty black and distorted combs from my hives and I put them in bait hives (I use spare equipment ) in both apiaries to pick up incoming swarms. They certainly also attract wax moths so at regular intervals through the summer I freeze the old comb. for a couple of days to kill the moth eggs and grubs before returning them to the bait hives. If a swarm moves in and I had 12 incoming swarms (6 in garden and 6 in out apairy) go into into bait hives last year whereas I normally expect 3 or 4, I swap out the old comb with frames of foundation so the bees can use up any honey in their crops and reduce the EFB risk. All old comb is melted down in a stainless steel steam extractor in late summer and yields about a kilogram of wax from 13 or 14 brood frames. The wax is obviously much darker than from cappings. I find if I keep my colonies strong I don't get much wax moth in their hives as the bees attack and remove the larvae

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

The use of old comb as wax moth bait is not new. I have been doing it for decades ( I have been keeping bees since 1959 and setting up bait hives since 1974) . In early spring I remove any empty grotty black and distorted combs from my hives and I put them in bait hives (I use spare equipment ) in both apiaries to pick up incoming swarms. They certainly also attract wax moths so at regular intervals through the summer I freeze the old comb. for a couple of days to kill the moth eggs and grubs before returning them to the bait hives. If a swarm moves in and I had 12 incoming swarms (6 in garden and 6 in out apairy) go into into bait hives last year whereas I normally expect 3 or 4, I swap out the old comb with frames of foundation so the bees can use up any honey in their crops and reduce the EFB risk. All old comb is melted down in a stainless steel steam extractor in late summer and yields about a kilogram of wax from 13 or 14 brood frames. The wax is obviously much darker than from cappings. I find if I keep my colonies strong I don't get much wax moth in their hives as the bees attack and remove the larvae

Good to know - thanks. I find that the bees are more than capable of dealing with wax moth in the hives. Great photo you've sent!

My wax moth problem is entirely about storage of comb. I need to be more organised about storing comb. Mostly spraying with XenTari works but it has to be repeated every week or so in the season. If I forget about any combs, the moths destroy them quickly.

 

[pargyle]

Good to know - thanks. I find that the bees are more than capable of dealing with wax moth in the hives. Great photo you've sent!

My wax moth problem is entirely about storage of comb. I need to be more organised about storing comb. Mostly spraying with XenTari works but it has to be repeated every week or so in the season. If I forget about any combs, the moths destroy them quickly.

The bacillus should not need re-treatment weekly - it works by killing the grubs as they emerge - it takes a day or two and they will sometimes make a small track before they die. But it stays active on the comb for weeks ... so either the Xentari is not working as it should and is no longer effective (storage ?) or there are lots of eggs resident in your combs. Perhaps you should do what I do .. I hit the frames with a sulphur burn which will kill any eggs and any larvae ... then I spray with the bacillus which gives the longer term protection against any residual eggs that the sulphur burn does not get. Obviously you have to make sure the stack of supers or the box of brood frames are well sealed to stop any moths gettng in ...

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

well, fair play, they've not long progressed from flint and steel to using matches to light their smokers

Just like the NBU

 

[Michael Palmer]

Not sure if you can import this. I use it and it works well. Cheap enough, too.

https://www.forestrydistributing.com/xentari-df-biological-insecticide-omri-listed-valent