Beltane Bees

The entomologists at K-State have confirmed that I do indeed have Small Hive Beetle, one of the first confirmed cases in KS it turns out.

The question now is what do I do about it, and after a lot of initial panic, I think the best answer may be “nothing.”

I’ve seen less than a half dozen beetles in each hive, and they’ve always had a bee chasing them.  I’ve seen a couple of larvae, both being wrestled out of the hive by the bees.  I’ve seen no damage to comb or slime from the larva in my inspections.  So, it appears that the bees may well be on top of the situation without my help.  The best thing I can probably do is just quit disturbing the hive, which gives the beetles the opportunity to out maneuver their bee guards and lay eggs in the comb where real harm may be done.  With fall approaching and weather turning colder I’ve already decided it is time to quit opening the hive because I want to give them the chance to seal things up for the winter.    I added a couple of top feeders (little more than plastic bins with some holes drilled in them and attached to a top bar) so I can feed them in the colder weather without opening the hive proper.

At some point I have to decide how dedicated I am to the whole “natural beekeeping” idea.  I’ve already broken down and started using a smoker, though that was a practical decision.  If the bees became hyper agitated whenever I opened the hive and became a threat to the neighbors, my beekeeping activities wouldn’t last long, and hundreds died stinging me (fortunately only about a score penetrated my protective clothing).  So smoke is a tradeoff that keeps things a bit under control.   Some colonies are able to deal with Small Hive Beetle on their own, and the proper thing to do may be to simply let nature take its course.  If my bees can keep them in check then great, if not, it might be better to let them die out rather than perpetuate the problem.  That sounds harsh, but considering how many pests and parasites have been able to take hold in the North American bee population due to poor breeding and   overuse of chemical treatments, it may be the best course of action.

Assuming the hives make it through the winter I may re-evaluate at that point.  I’m still considering the use of beneficial nematodes to feed on the larvae since it doesn’t appear that insects develop resistance to nematodes like they may to insecticides.

I took advantage of the beautiful weather over Labor Day Weekend to check on the second hive and clean up some of the broken comb from the original split and some cross comb that had been built since.  All in all the hive looks to be in good health, though I am concerned they don’t have enough honey stores for the winter.  I’m not experienced enough to say for sure, and the fact that the honeycomb is mixed with brood comb makes it difficult to accurately judge just how much is there.  I’m not terribly worried though because we seem to be having a nice fall bloom of lots of wildflowers now and I see bees returning to the hive with lots of fluffy white pollen on their legs.   I’m also planning on building a top feeder for them so I can easily feed sugar or syrup without actually opening the hive.  This will allow me to feed them regularly as we head into cold weather if I’m concerned they don’t have food stores for the winter.

The bigger issue at the moment is that I found about a half dozen small beetles running about as I was checking things.  Small Hive Beetle  (SHB) is a relatively new pest to this area, but is has been devastating to hives in some areas where it has taken hold.  Of course, they say that a healthy hive is the best defense against these, and I don’t think they are adapted well to cold climates, so my hope is that the Kansas Winter will wipe these things out.

Possible Small Hive Beetle

I’m not completely sure that these are indeed SHB, they could just be another type of small beetle attracted to the honey in the hive and not pose a major threat, but from the pictures I’ve looked at, they seem to really resemble SHB.  Fortunately, Kansas State University is an Agricultural School and they offer free insect and plant identification services, with a local county extension just a few miles away.  So tonight I captured a couple of the buggers and will be taking them in for positive identification.

I did not see any evidence of the damage caused by the larva of the beetles, and it may well be that the hive is strong enough to deal with them and the design of the top bar hive doesn’t give them good places to hide and breed.  Even so, this is one case where I may resort to chemical pesticides because of the huge slimy mess these things can turn a hive into.  I’ve been reading that some simple boric acid traps are fairly effective at killing them and do not have a large negative impact on the bees.  The other possibility is that of nematodes.   SHB larva pupate in the soil, so they leave the hive at that stage and burrow in to the dirt.  Some researchers have reported promising results at using certain breeds of nematodes to attack the larva at this point.  If the bees are mostly keeping the beetles under control this might be a chemical free way of giving them an edge in the battle by disrupting the life cycle of the beetles.

Time will tell.