Are Small Hive Beetles WORSE Than Mites?! Beekeeping 101
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ย. 2023
- OHHHHH small hive beetles...how I so do not like you. Not even a little bit. I never took small hive beetles seriously. I always thought, as long as you have a strong hive then the bees will manage the beetles on their own. Well this year Kasey @theterriblebeekeeper7435 , and I decided to put that to the test. And to our surprise...everything we have believed about small hive beetles may actually be way off....what do you think?
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Don't let those larva hit the ground or ull have a worse problem 100x
Hi Emily and Casey! Have you tried Crisco/lard and borax mixed in a D case? That seems to be working for me. It also eradicates ants. The lard attracts the SHBs and the borax poisons the bastards. Peppermint candies have also seemed to help. I placed the star mints in each corner of the hive tops - that drive the SHBs to the bottom where they feed on the lard/borax mixture.
I lost 6 hives to SHBs and it is heartbreaking to have peaceful bees overcome by parasites. Please let us know if you get to try the lard /borax and peppermint experiment.
Odd thoughts for the grubs in the ground:
Tilling the soil. How deep do they burro?
Will tilling improve the effectiveness of the rock salt?
Hives on a concrete slab or sheet of plywood - no place for the grubs to dig.
The slab or plywood might work if you put up Robin shells or something to attract the ground foraging virus. Like blackbirds, grows, Robin's, ravens etc. One study I read said that the larva can crawl up to 9 meters, but will usually burrow and pupate within 1 meter of the hive. For the sake of simplicity, let's just say yards. So 3ft from the hive in every direction is guaranteed to be the first stop breeding ground. What it is possible for the buggers to end up 21ft from the hive. And the issue with evolution and adaptation is that if you put down a solid surface, out up bird boxes to attract the bird that will learn they get a free lunch by scooping up those larva... will there's the issue of natural selection. The ones that are off the solid surface and in the ground before morning a ilk be more likely to survive, so the problem crops back up when those survive and breed other generations down the line. Same with the ones that pupate farther from the hives.
Hinestly... a lot of people won't like the hard truth. But the root of the problem could be human selection for more docile and less aggressive bees.
It starts with "the bees are acting aggressive? Pinch the queen. I don't deal with aggressive bees", transitions through "look how docile they are.nothing I do gets them angry", then to "what the hell? I've never seen hive beetles this bad. Looks they're everywhere and the bees aren't attempting to do anything about them. The bees are just ignoring them" and ends with "wrll. My bees are dead/absconded". A living creature with no capacity or tendsncy for violence or aggression, not even as a means of self defense, response to harassment, or to to preserve their ability to live peacibly; is nothing more than a prey animal that will always fall victim to every potential predator or parasite
Except I can't remember if I'm referring to animal livestock, or modern society human livestock. 🤔
I'm in Texas so I'm sure it's different, but we don't get a break from SHB in winter. It really helps to keep the hives in direct sun. I have beetle jails with just oil for my hives that are part shade. If you see the SHB larva, you need to take those frames out & freeze them. It will kill the larva & you can give the frames back before getting slimed.
I use swiffer sheets and have screened bottom boards with diatomaceous earth underneath.
I’ve used unscented Swiffer sheets below on top of frames and between the inner cover and the telescoping cover. The mop-like Swiffer sheets seem to work the best as they have more surface area (and have these finger like tentacles). An alternative, which also works, are Handi Wipes that have been scuffed-up a little with sandpaper. The bees that chase the beetles into the inner cover seem to be able to avoid the sheets and will even pull the sheets into the top super.
One additional thing I am going to do in my apiary this winter is to use a salt spray on the ground around the hives. All you need is a landscaping sprayer (clean/no pesticides), pool salt (available at almost every pool supply store), white vinegar and Dawn dish soap. The bees are inside for the winter, so this shouldn’t bother them and will seep into the soil. You can soak the entire area around the hive with this mixture and it will seep into dry soil. After I do this, I am going to add diatomaceous earth (also available at pool supply stores) to the ground around the entire apiary, especially underneath the colonies (e.g. a 10-15ft circle around each colony). I may do this a couple of times this winter to keep make sure the grubs are destroyed. All natural.
Wonderful. Hello. My dear beekeeper friend, respect and greetings from Turkey.
Hey Emily I use peppermint candy I put 2 in each colony but if yours is bad try 5 1 in middle and 4 in each corner it works for me but it might not work for you but Hey little something to try and give your girls a treat
Try peppermint oil. Small drop in each corner.
go to Beetle Buster Small Hive Beetle, this company is in Australia, but they have a Vendor here UAS,that sell them, they work very good down to =0. they have different size for your Bee Hive :)
Swifter sheets and peppermint oil can work
They eat everything, tge bee larva, the honey & the pollen, & they lay their eggs everywhere
Unsented swiffer sheets or dryer sheets
Unscented Swiffer Sheets will trap them also. I know a beekeeper who lost a queen because she got tangled up in one. I’d rather use oil and beetle barns inside the hive.
Was this one of your treatment-free hives? If so I bet your booming hive was reduced by varroa-related issues, which then allowed the opportunistic hive beetles to proliferate.
Use coolers snd change out frames. Shake of bees and start over.freeze frames
How do you fix that?
hi mam aapka madhumakhi kaun si Bij ka hai aps Serena vs aps MiliFera
❤
in the words of Psychostick "LET'S GO DRINK SOME BEEEEEEER!"
I can see the contraption in my head. And if I had the tools I could make a prototype. Basically, a bottle rack that allows beer bottles to lay over at a steep angle, drill holes in the wood to allow the mouth of the bottle to sit in the wood. Fill bottles 1/3 full of beer, place in wood ramp/bottle rack, place under or around the hives, pour a little beer on the ramp as an attractant. I believe it was Dr JD Ellis that did a study and found Miller High Life was the most effective out of the beers tested; and it was 33% more effective than ACV.
You'll definitely get a lot of snails and slugs in the process. But I wonder how it would work out at trapping the emerging hive bettles before they gain entrance into the hives. Proactive control vs reactive control.
As you said, the oil traps are a reactive measure once the beetles are already infesting the hive. Same with swiffer sheets and quilt batting. That's the fabric that you showed in the video. It's synthetic quilt/pillow batting. And the cheap stuff too. My mother and sisters used to enjoy making quilts as a hobby. But they never used that cheap stuff. They used the heavy weight cotton batting.
Rock salt and GrubX are proactive measures; but could have significant, or even grievous, unforeseen impacts on other life and microbiology in the soil. Beer bottle traps would be a "soft" proactive measure that lures the hive beetles into the traps as they emerge from the soil as adults.
Another possible measure would be having smaller entrances and no landing boards. The hive beetles fly just fine. But so far, it seems they can't hover too well. So they fly and drop. Landing boards give them someplace to land. And a larger entrance is harder for the bees to guard and police.
Maybe a few pieces of 3/4"×1.5" or 2" scrap wood to make some nuc bottoms that just have a 3/4" hole, 7/8" hole, or 1" hole. Hell, you could even throw them under some dead out double stack nucs to see which one the next swarm chooses. But just the walls that line up with the sides of the boxes above, and a bottom with no landing board. And as ryan said, no upper entrance. Where you all use just the reflactix/double bubble and covers seems like a good approach. But.. Would be neat to see how they compare side by side with the ones you have that do have landing boards.
Another possible measure of control could be replacing some of the pallets with cinder blocks and wood rails to bring them up a little higher, and wrappjng the rails with rags or ropes soaked in neem oil. The hive bettles can climb the cinder blocks no problem. But they would have to cross the ropes to get to the hives. Neem oil sashes goes WAY back in farming and agriculture. Back when not everyone was owned by monsanto, kept their own bees on site, and were more concious of their pest control measures. Ropes or sashes would be dipped in neem oil and wrapoed around tree trunks in orchards to deter a lot of different pests. They just take them off a couple of times a year, or after heavy storms, and re-dip them. This also allows the bark/trunk of the tree to grow. It's not as common now days, when even "Organic" farmers are using things like BT and other "natural" insecticides.
Bat boxes around the apiary, maybe? Bats are insectivores that are active at the times of night when hive beetles are flying. Seems like another form of control by improving the ecosystem and habitat. Bats and bees share very VERY similar habitats, habitat preferences and requirements, what they look for in an ideal nest site are very similar between the 2 species, they both prefer to have a water source near their nest site, forest and field biome nearby, Sources of nectar, a relatively warm but fairly stable nest inside a well insulated environment, etc. But where are the bats these days? You almost never see them. Unlike when I was a kid 20-30 years ago. There's a missing component from the ecosystem. And an introduced invasive species that is growing out of hand.
*foil hat time* I cant help but wonder if the hive beetles have become so much of a problem, because it's a genetically modified organism intendered to create such a problem that it requires the approval of an already developed chemical solution?
There have been scientists that let it slip in their presentations or dissertations that they used labratory produced, genetically modified Varroa Mites or various GM strains of diseases, such as DWV or CBPV in various tests; as a means of identifying disease spread by tracking the specific genetics of the disease organism.
So it isn't as much of a ridiculous conspiracy theory as one might think. If they can make genetically modified diseases or parasites for laboratory testing, by tracking the genetics of the pest or disease... why wouldn't they make one that's particularly devastating and seed it into commercial apiaries to be shipped all around the country? Especially when they stand to profit.
It seems kinda funny how if you or I attempted to import a couple queens from Varroa resistant Apis Cerena, we'd be sitting in prison for 25 years with the last guys that tried it. But these problematic invasive species are imported in and shipped all over the country constantly. Almost as though there's a corporation and entire industry that makes billions off of "pest control" and chemical "solutions" every year. Almost as if they own the FDA, EPA, USDA, CDC, Inpectors, educators, massive commercial/industrial operations, etc.
I'll put down the tin foil hat. But it seems everyone has had unbelievable problems with hives being overrun this year. So I can't help but wonder what new Hive beetle treatment will be approved/announced in the coming year.
Anyway. Thanks for another fantastic video.
And best wishes.
Murder sauce.
Pesticides are prevalent in those hives.wouldnt eat honey.
Use Guardian© Entrance Reducer
Put those hives in the sun hive beetles thrive in shady areas. You will see a big difference.
Bees also thrive in shaded areas. The bees and beetles have nearly identical habitat requirements. Both lose fecundity and viable sperm at very similar temperatures. The eggs descicate and lose viability at the exact same relative humidity (50% or lower), both larva suffer similar effects...
The reason why hive beetles are such a problem is that anything you do that is a reactive means of control (aside from trapping) will have an almost equal negative impact on the bees themselves, because their habitat requirements are identical.
So no. Moving the hives to direct sunlight is not a viable option. If anything, you'll just exhaust the bees, wear them out, and reduce stored nectar and pollen, as they have to try and struggle to regulate hive homeostasis in regards to temperature and humidity.
And, you're promoting varroa reproduction; as the varroa need an oxygen rich, low humidity, warmer tenperature, and low CO² environment to thrive and reproduce at the optimal level. More ventilation, less insulation, higher temperatures, and lower CO² levels with maximize your mite reproduction while reducing the bees ability ro function properly.
I've spent a lot of time in study on these very subjects.
Move 1 hive to the shade, insulate it, close it up so that there's only the one entrance and monitor honey production, brood production and mite levels compared to your colonies with high ventilation and low insulation in the sun. The mite levels will increase more slowly, and the honey and brood production will increase a little faster. But you'll have more hive beetles to deal with. That's why proactive measures that seek to prevent the beetles from entering the hive are the better methods. Also... pollen patties are a sure way to get hive beetles to flourish. Because they're exactly what the beetles and beetle larva needs to thrive, there's a large mass of it all in one spot, the beetles will lead eggs directly in it, AND it's at the top of the hive where the bees chase the beetles to.
So that's another measure that can be used to help restrict the beetles. Let the bees have enough honey and natural pollen that they gather.
Pollen patty is sterile dead yeast that is a byproduct of industrial distilling of spirits. It is pure nutrition without any natural bacteria that will inhibit the symbiotic yeast that she mention the larva and beetles carry with them. While natural pollen is thriving with probiotic bacterial that cna help keep the yeast in check. But not pollen patty. It feeds EVERYTHING in the hive. BE it Nosema, AFB, EFB, Chalk brood,etc.
Diatomaceous earth under your hives
Have you tried beneficial nematodes around your hives? JC's Bees has a post on how to use and a discount code from where he buys them.
th-cam.com/video/B_gIF9x1vSE/w-d-xo.html
Get chickens
YES! C couple dozen chickens a d a handful of meal worms under the hives will get the chickens scratching and pecking for the beetle Pupa. Plus, chickens make eggs.
Bees, bats, chickens. All forest dwelling species that have similar habitat requirements.
This is gonna sound like a broken record. But your main issue with hive beetle taking over your colony is because your colonies are dwindling because of the varroa. small hive beetle are opportunist. Almost never they will collapse a healthy colony. Once a colony gets in trouble the hive beetle can smell that there is no brood pheromone or queen pheromone, and that is what attracts the small hive beetle . my suggestion. Instead of not treating every colony, do mite washes and then select from the colonies that have genetics you want and treat the ones that need to be treated.. and then requeen the poor colonies with you have the genetics you want
I was about to comment basically the same thing. Varroa Mites and the diseases they vector are the start to all the other problems ... healthy, strong, populous bees have absolutely no problem keeping beetles in check. I noticed the colony used as anecdotal proof had maybe 2-3 frames of bees left to protect ten. Beetles are definitely problematic once they take over, but before they were a problem, they were a symptom.
Biological polyester. Love it. Another hard watch as always. All regurgitated fear mongering by bee farmers with knowledge of no other insects. Keep strong colonies and turn of the camera and do actual beekeeping.
♥️♥️♥️my favorite hater. Haven’t heard from ya in awhile! How are you?! Unfortunately I have a camera tapped to my hands so I will never stop filming our beekeeping journey. But I appreciate the thought!!
I'm not a Fitbit Beekeeping hater. Just cringing and commenting for my sanity.
@@beefitbeekeepingI'm sorry. But I LoL'd at the "fit bit beekeeping" lmao
Glad you can take some hits on the chin and keep your head up. 🤘