Help! Larva found on my hive floor


There’s only one of them. It was small and soft and looked almost hollow and when I squished it some creamy stuff came out

It’s probably wax moth larvae, nothing to worry about. SHB larvae is also associated with a foul odor. Sniff for any bad odors as well as monitor the core flute. If you find any more, try & get a real closeup photo of it. cheers

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Agree with jeff wax moth larva. I freeze any questionable frames for a day or . Here is what the internet says… To kill the moths, you must monitor both time and temperature. For example, the Mid-Altantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium (MAAREC) publishes the following guidelines to kill both species of wax moth:

20 degrees F for 4.5 hours or

5 degrees F for 2 hours.

Similarly, the Department of Primary Industries in Victoria, Australia advises

-6.7 degrees C for 4.5 hours or

-12.2 degrees C [10 degrees F] for 3 hours or

-15 degrees C for 2 hours

as Jeff said- likely wax moth and likely nothing to worry about. You will see these from time to time on the coreflute- and hiding in spots the bees can’t easily get to anywhere in the hive. they are no worry if the overall colony is strong- and mostly only a worry when you are storing beekeeping equipment (which they can make a complete mess of). You’ll know it’s wax moth if you see messy spider-like webbing or small moths that look just like weevil moths you get in the cupboard. If actual combs are infected you might see lines across the comb where the larvae have tunneled through it. They can also eat into the wood parts of the hive if they ever get out of control.

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