I am in the process of building a new home and this last weekend
I was laying sod with my dad.  While gasping for breath hunkered
over the wheel barrow (in the 100 degree heat!), I saw something
scurring around in the dirt left in the bottom of the barrow.
Needless to say, they looked very very similar to the Small Hive
Beetle.  Over the course of the day, I saw maybe 10-15 beetles.
I did collect a few in a bottle for later examination.

Are their any Sod Pests which are similar in appearance to the
Small Hive beetle?

The Sod came from a turf company in the South Eastern most tip of
South Carolina (Hilton Head, Savanah GA Area)  This area is
infested with Hive beetles.

The Hive beetle is noted as a beehive related pest (some reports
of Mellons, etc in SC as well), Is there another habitat that can
support the hive beetle?

Is this a mode of spreading the Small hive beetle that has not
been investigated?

Anyone in the SC area who could direct me to someone/someplace
where I can get a confirmation on the beetle, please let me know.


Rod Billett
Hobbiest,
Lexington, SC  USA