De Witt wrote:

> Boy did I get a scare just now! I opened one of my new hives and under =
> the Telescoping lid, but over the inner cover, there were three =
> "cockroach" like insects dark brown to black about 3/4 to 1" long.  =

In addition to our nasty house cockroaches, there are several wild species
which live in the woods and fields.  Occasionally I have had these living on
the inner cover, and they run quickly when the hive is opened.  I had been
worried that they might take up residence in the honey house when bringing
supers in, but in my 30 years of beekeeping I  never saw them except upon
the inner covers.  I concluded that they were harmless.

The small hive beetles are much smaller than 3/4 inch.  Don't worry that
these are what you saw.

Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA