Could someone please take a look at these pics and tell me if you think I have a problem?
The tray has this large collection of debris concentrated in one main area and it has plenty of these little white larvae crawling through it.
Thanks for your help!
Hi Paul, when did you last inspecting the tray? It could just be some capping that opportunistic SHB that were kicked out of the hive have laid some eggs in and the larva is feeding on this. It would be important to inspect the brood box to see if there is any pest bothering the bees.
Cedar talks about the tray here:
That is why I put vegetable oil in my tray. Its a great SHB trap.
I think you have a problem there. I agree with Kieran to do a brood inspection.
What I think is happening is hive beetles got started on some brood, which the bees are attempting to overwhelm, as evidenced by the chewed up brood comb in the tray.
It’s more than likely that the chewed up comb could be drone brood, on account that recently emerged drones will congregate adjacent to where they emerge. Drones do no defending, which includes chasing beetles.
Another possibility could be a shortage of workers in relation to the amount of frames containing brood & or pollen.
Just some added information: Beetles will lay eggs in unprotected {by workers) brood, pollen & dead bees.
Thanks for the replies, really appreciate the help in here.
I’ve got some cold weather by our standards at the moment, 12C max day temp. Is this too cold to open up the hive? And if the SHBs are rampant, what can I do while I’m in there, apart from squish the little monsters?
Thanks again legends!
These are great for giving the bees a place to push SHBeetles into- Just barely fill them with enough oil to coat the bottom of the trap, and place one or two in between frames flush with the top of the frames.
While it’s so cold, at least you should clean the tray, then monitor it daily, to see if the fall down of chewed comb and/or beetle larvae continues.
Pick a warm dry day with no wind to do the inspection.
