The fipronil traps work exceptionally well. Almost 100%.  So I set
out a number in a site randomly to compare the benefit.  No obvious
difference between 	hives.

Fully agree on the traps,  got a few samples and wow!  The fipronol does
dissipate after about a year thou,  and they are worthless then.   I am not
quite sure I follow what your saying about the randomly and no obvious
difference?


  

	Well, yes, most of my local stuff is 20 million years old.  No ice
to grind up the rocks.  The main difference though is that in most of
Australia we work 	bees 365 days a year if one wishes to shift, and
occasionally without shifting.

In our area shifting helps!  Moving away from the larva infested soil gives
the hives a respite.  Unsure of the effect on local hives,  as they may bear
the brunt of that.   Do you suspect your soil is rough enough on larva to
lower the successful pupation rate??



	Feral hives.  I suspect that here there could be reproduction in the
dross at the bottom of the hive.  I intend to set up a tree type hive to
check what 	happens, but then again I have intended to do it for about
three years.
 They do!,  I have done two log cutouts this summer and pupating larval
stages in the detritus in both! One I found 4 in,  the other only 2.



	On a number of occasions I have seen large numbers of them flying in
to the site on dusk.  A couple of mates have seen the same thing.  Most were
entering 	hives on the front corner of the site, but inspection days
later did not show any marked difference in numbers in those hives by the
time of the inspection. 

Not seen that here,  but any swarm or cluster even in midday will attract
beetles. They will hang with the cluster on a tree branch or in a cage,
they also enter hives with the swarm as I have observed  here in my yard,
BUT  since the origination of the swarm moving in is unknown,  I have no
idea if they actually traveled with the swarm,  or were locals just catching
the excitement.  I would love to know that,  but would rather just kill them
all!

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