I’ve Been A LAZY Beekeeper…but I have an excuse!!!!

Yes, I went into a few hives in early August and then did not go into the others. I am having a issue with my left foot. I am trying to stay off of it!! IT’S NOT EASY!!

That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!!

I can, however, share information about what I saw in the hives that I did inspect. I saw Lots and Lots of Hive Beetles!!

I have encountered years like this before. Those plastic traps that you put in the hives with mineral oil in them are really not sufficient in the late summer. This year I have a bumper crop of hive beetles.

Beekeepers have so many remedies. Some work, some don’t. I have a new one that many probably have not tried.

A nematode that eats the larvae of the beetle while it is in the ground!! That is the life cycle of a beetle. It lays the eggs in the ground. The egg pupates into a larvae and then hatches into another beetle. I have used Milky Spore on Japanese Beetle larvae and it does a pretty good job of reducing the population.

Beneficial Nematodes

Just search for ARBICO Organics.

Hive Beetles are not big, but if they over populate a hive as a female can lay hundreds of eggs. They can drive the bees out. I have had bees leave the hive in mid-winter because the hive beetle population had become more than the Bees could deal with.

They will slime the comb and I have been told that it is their excrement that drives the bees out. I guess I can’t blame them!! I wouldn’t want a bunch of bugs pooping in my house either!!

Slimed Glistening Comb

So I am very hopeful to get the population of hive beetles under control before winter with these nematodes. About $30 per treatment is well worth not loosing your bees over the winter! If I see results, I will be putting this down yearly.

This is because any nematode is going to go where the food is. If my land becomes void of food sources, they will move on to my neighbor’s yard and beyond. I am hoping a yearly application of this product, will keep my bees happy and void of hive beetles.

I feel that beneficial insects and nematodes will be the future of pest control.

September is right on our doorstep. Next month will be all about getting the bees ready for winter.

Namaste’

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