Hello Bob and Friends,
Bob Harrison said, "My friends in Florida report that although SHB can be
found in almost all
hives the large numbers which actually lay the eggs which hatch quickly and
slime the hive (which can take place between ten day inspections) come from
the woods   around the  hives rather than a small infestation which slowly
grows larger."

On the Hive Beetles' laying of eggs,  I have found egg masses laid between
the supers.  I can crack a super off and will see the eggs laid in a paper
thin white sheet (egg mass) 1/4" to 3/4" long by 1/8" to 1/4" across.  I
understand the females have an ovipositor and poke their ovipositor in the
cracks between the supers.  The interesting thing is that often I will see
the egg masses laid from the outside of the hive.  This correlates with
Bob's post about the Beetles in the woods (or at least Beetles outside the
hive anyway), in that, the egg masses usually are deposited adjacent the
edge of the super from which they were laid.  The super's wall is 3/4" and
the eggs will be either next to the outside or the inside.  To further
substantiate this, the bees often propolise the cracks from the inside which
seems to seal off crack space and it would prevent a female from laying her
eggs in that spot, from the inside. The newly hatched larvae are about 1/16"
long, white in color with a brown head.  They are fast crawlers.
Bob Bassett
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Bob Bassett
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