Hello all,
I have been noticing a beetle that is hanging around my bee equipment but
does not seem to be causing any problems.  I first noticed it a few years
ago in a swarm trap.  It seems to prefer old abandoned comb, but I have seen
it in living colonies.  It is a small black beetle that ranges from 1/8" to
3/8" in length.  It is black with a distinctive brown band (about 1/3 the
length) across the mid section.  I am pretty sure it is not the African Hive
Beetle because all photos of those that I have seen do not have the brown
band.  This guy may have been around longer, and maybe I only noticed it
after I heard of the AHB. Again, it does not seem to cause any problems, but
I would like to know more about it.  I plan to send a sample for
identification, but I was wondering if anyone else ever noticed it.

On a side note, I know the season is over when the leaves start to change
and the colonies smell of the aster honey they are busy ripening.  I can
usually detect it 25' away.

Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, (eastern) PA, USA



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