SHB  (Small Hive Beetle) usually do not enter or lay into any cell, much less a queen cell....At least in an active and thriving colony of bees.    They lay their eggs in every nook and cranny they can find in the hive which the worker bees cannot get to or extract them from.    When the eggs hatch, the larva will tunnel through and slime comb and honey to the point the bees will not even touch it.    A good strong colony will keep the SHB in check and eject the eggs as they find them and also try to run the adult SHB out of the colony (this is why the SHB traps are somewhat of a control).   The SHB run into the traps to avoid the bees and drown in the vegetable oil.

If the colony is dead, dying and/or extremely weak (not enough bees to police all the frames of comb), then you may find SHB eggs and larva in cells.

The SHB larva will leave the hive when it is time to enter the ground and pupate into a SHB adult.   Most SHB get into a hive by flying into it and scurrying to a place of protection.   When they emerge from the ground, they (like Japanese Beetles) can and do fly some distance from where they emerge.   This is a factor in their eventual migration into areas which never had them before (this with some SHB being transported in NUCS and packages which are sold and distributed across vast distances).    Not to mention the movement of the migratory colonies used for pollination services.

The SHB are usually considered one of the undertakers in the bee world (like the wax moth).    They are quick to take advantage of a dead, or a weak and dying colony.   It has been my experience, if you are slow to collect and seal the equipment of colonies which die, they quickly become breeding grounds for both SHB and Wax Moth.

Varroa Destructor mites are the parasite which enter cells just before they are capped/sealed.

Steve Petrilli,
Central Illinois

We are plagued with both SHB and Varroa here.

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