Dan,  As for queens,  no that’s not a huge variable.  I had thought early on that may be a factor.  You will notice "moody" bees such as Weavers will seem to have a smaller problem.  More gentle hives will have bigger numbers.

We are entering a fall cool down,  so the beetles actually also slow down.  It seems the only time they aggressively enter the brood nest is that july/Aug time frame.
Yesterday I was pulling supers, and reversing hive bodies.  Most hives in the yard I was in have better than 100 beetles.  Swiffer pads,  hive tool and torch(beetles die in a second if you flame them)   Someone made a comment about not pulling the outer frames.  That’s been mentioned before' don’t "disturb" the hive.  Not an option to me,  many of these hives there is what appears to be normal amounts in the inner cover 3-5 or so,  and center of the brood nest looks clear,  but over in one corner piled up will be a hundred or better.  Not safely corralled,  but piled up like little tanks.  Ignoring the outer frames here is like walking along the edge of the cliff with your eyes closed.  Not a good strategy so far for me.

If I had to guess I would say a bit better than 2000 beetles killed yesterday in that yard. 13 hives.  Hives are very crowded now,  but if you watch closely in the fall the bees are more tolerant,  and actually allow the beetles to winter in the cluster.  Makes them hard to finish off.

IU have notices that beetles seem to "ignore" fall honey?  Many supers I pulled were packed and capped and no guard bees,  yet beetles were on the bottom boards real heavy.

2 hives I have been working with all summer are level at a small single.  Beetle numbers in them are excessive,  but the bees seem to have reached an equilibrium.  Unfortunately for me that balance does not include enough honey to survive, or any excessive bees.   Bottom line is that like it or not,  beetles are a growth inhibitor for hives. 

I realize the fiprinol traps are approved elsewhere,  I have some on the way to test not as easy as it sounds as there are some rules about importation.  It will be interesting to see how they work.  I remain hopeful,  even if they do work well,  we face a regulatory battle to get any serious quanity used here.


I should mention I have found one thing that seems to work well,  some old boy on you tube came up with it,  but it works.  A screened oil tray under the hive,  and then dust them with powdered sugar.  The bees get agitated and the beetles get driven out into the oil.  Difficult on large operations,  but for a hobbiest it’s a great clean up that takes about 15 minutes.


Charles

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