Kirk wrote:
>Hive beetles- seem to be less of a problem now. Not as many as when they
>first infiltrated our hives and honey house.

When I first saw small hive beetles in Florida ( same time as Jeff Pettis
and the Florida bee inspectors) I did not know what the long term impact
would be. Since then observing SHB in hives in many areas is commonplace.
Always worse at the start but both the bees and beekeepers adjust.

To Howard:
Step one is trying to remove all the places around the bee farm SHB can
reproduce.
Step two is to keep strong colonies and reduce entrances of all small
colonies.

You will need to try and figure out what time of year SHB reproduces in your
area. ( same as we do for wax moth in Missouri). At those times you have to
be vigilant. Usually the time corresponds in Florida with removal of honey
as in Missouri. Keep supers & hive bodies covered. It has been reported that
SHB can locate comb from five miles away.
In drought years we see less SHB and the opposite is true in wet years.
In Missouri our hives are at peak populations when SHb if trying to
reproduce so strong hives can usually handle .
SHB comes and goes in hives but when egg laying starts in a "dink" all the
SHB in the bee yard will move to the hive being slimmed. L. Cutts has
discussed the phenomenon in presentations.
Cutts said in one "slimmed" hive they counted over 8000 SHB.
Once I was called to find the source of a SHB infestation. I found the two 
fifty frame "beterway Way "wax melters and his slum barrels working alive 
with SHB & larva in a remote area of the bee farm.

Kirk wrote:
>Btw, in the Florida panhandle, we are having the warmest winter I can
remember.

Back home in Missouri. The blizzard missed us but we received two inches of 
needed rain (unlike last year this time!) but hit a little over a hundred 
miles to the west and north of us. I enjoyed the time we spent together Kirk 
and miss Florida already. next stop Texas next month.

bob

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