Hi Lloyd/All
These are a number of interesting questions which Lloyd posed:
> freezing temperatures. However, they froze some larvae for 12 hours (or so,
> I forget exactly) at 10 degrees F (-12 C.) and when thawed they were fine!
> Scary stuff!
The beetles and larvae are both extremely tough - as people who have
had them survive in a solar extractor will aggree! I don't think the
handle frost very well, but because the adult beetles overwinter in
colonies that survive. I have never seen bees removing larvae during
winter, but have seen beetles in winter. In beetle infested areas in
the US ask people to check in front of their hives?
> Implied here, and in your message where you talked about your observation
> hive, is that when larvae are seen "it is too late". If I have the
Not neccessarily - in the observation hives I have run since then I
have always noticed the occasional larvae on the bottom in the
mornings - but the bees carry them out very fast.
> combination of your and Shim's comments correct the story seems to be
> "seeing beetles in a hive is not bad, but seeing larvae is a disaster!" Is
> that more or less right? In other words, there does not seem to be a level
It is basically correct - it one has larvae gushing from a brood
frame it is a disaster - the bees will leave. If however it is just
larvae here and there it is normal.
> of larvae infestation that is visible to a beekeeper and still harmless to a
> hive?
Yes - the bees can cope with a certain amount - but I think some
stress may push them into the abys.
> If that is the case, and since beetles seem to be endemic in S.A., larvae
> must "normally" be elsewhere than in a beehive, and the beetles must be
> attracted to the hives from locations elsewhere. Feral colonies? Another
> host?
No, there is always a background level of larvae in the hives - when
I extract fresh supers I always catch a few in the sieves - never
more than say ten a super, but they are there - I gather in the
pollen etc in the supers. Feral colonies tend to have very few
beetles - I did a lot of hive removals (180+) over the last few years
and was always intrigued by that, but have a theory that a wild hive
is able to propolise all hidey holes up - of course we keep breaking
the seals in our hives so there are always more places to hide. The
beetles can eat strawberries!
> there is brood." Are you being specific with your reference to BEETLES, or
> do you mean LARVAE? I suspect the latter, which implies that beetles are
Oops - yes I meant larvae - I tend to call both beetles. Yes - the
beetles lay eggs and the larvae destroys the brood that remains -
long before wax moths have even thought about it. Ants don't eat the
larvae, and neither do honey guides and other birds. Because they are
adapted I geuss to living in honey (high sugar content) they are just
about bullet proof - and very difficult to even squash!
> actually laying eggs in the hives, and the bees are somehow eliminating
> those eggs or very young larvae. When the bees are gone, the larvae can
> take over.
Correct.
> I for one, was around well before we had mites in the US and survived them,
> despite being almost wiped out twice. Moreover, I was never as concerned
> about the effect of the mites as I am about the beetles!
Yes - the beetles may be quite scary -this coming year will show us.
The big thing about the beetles is they can fly a long way, they can
fly with swarms, and they are 'smart' - the varroa are just parasites
- these are invaders. Hence they are difficult to control. The varroa
lifecycle takes a few weeks to reach a bad point - beetles can trash
a hive in a few days if one does something wrong. Beetles can
multiply in a dead infecting hives nearbye in short period of time -
like a few weeks. This makes them a potentially big threat in theory
- as I say we must wait for evidence of this.
Thanks for all the interesting questions and insights!
Keep well
Garth
Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries
15 Park Road
Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis
6139 South Africa
Time = Honey
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