Small Hive Beetles
A big part of successful beekeeping is to know the enemy. For many beekeepers in the southern regions of the United States, Small Hive Beetles can be a major problem. These small black beetles are an annoyance when only a few are in the colony. But, a large infestation can spell disaster for your beehives. Understanding this pest of honey bee colonies is the first step to protecting our bees.
What is a Small Hive Beetle?
The scientific name for the Small Hive Beetle is Aethina tuimdda – you will often see this abbreviated as (SHB).
They originated in sub-saharan Africa. (And, Yes, before you ask – there IS a Large Hive Beetle. Let’s hope it stays in Africa.)
Small Hive Beetles infect most of the honey bee colonies found in their native area. But, they are not a major pest in Africa. The honey bees in those regions have evolved to handle this pest.
While not as big a problem as the mites, that require routine varroa mite testing – Small Hive Beetles do cause many colony deaths each year in the United States.
Arriving in the U.S.
We don’t know how Small Hive Beetles made it to the United States. Most likely they came in with bees that were bought and shipped from an infested region or on a cargo ship.
First noticed in the Southeast during the late 1990’s, they have spread to many states since that time.
Though a bigger problem in the warm states, cold weather does not seem to completely eliminate them.
Once they arrive, the type of soil found in any given area plays a bigger role in their success than the average temperatures.
Clay soils are less inviting to beetle reproduction. Beekeepers living in a region with sandy soil can expect more problems with beetles.
Yet, my soil is rock hard red clay and I still have some beetle issues. I can only imagine what the fight would be like in softer soil.
Signs of Hive Beetle Infestations
How do you know if you have Small Hive Beetles?
- seeing adult beetles
- SHB larvae on bottom board
- adults running on comb
The most common method of detection of Small Hive Beetles is actually seeing them. They don’t like sunlight and will run when exposed to light.
Don’t confuse them with another insect you may see inside a colony –earwigs. Hive beetles have an oval shape and are brown to shiny black.
When you open a hive, be prepared to observe and take action. Remove your inner cover (an important part of your beehive) – look quickly on the bottom of it.
A colony with a significant infestation will likely have dozens scrambling to escape to the dark areas. Have a hive tool ready to squish any beetle that you see.
Another place to watch for signs of hive beetle infestations is your bottom board. If you use solid bottom boards or leave in the grid for your screened bottom, debris collects there.
Hive Beetles are attracted to wax cappings that fall to the floor. If you find developing beetle larvae in the debris – it’s time for a closer inspection.
Don’t panic over a few grubs in the debris if there is no real problem inside. And seeing a few beetles (no more than 5-10), is no reason for alarm.
However, once a major infestation is underway, it may be too late to save your colony. Adult SHB running rampant on the comb with beetle larva in the wax cells is a sign of impending disaster.
Small Hive Beetle Life Cycle
While adult beetles do little harm, they are looking for a place to reproduce. The worker bees will chase them. However, the beetles tuck their legs and antenna under the body for protection.
The adult female lays masses of eggs in cracks and crevices of the brood combs. Beetle eggs look similar to honey bee eggs but smaller.
In addition, female beetles puncture the cappings of brood cells and lay eggs inside to hide them from the bees.
Eggs hatch in 2-4 days and the larvae feed on bee pollen, honey and bee brood (developing baby bees).
Beetle larvae grow to about 1/2 inch in length. They have 3 pair of well-developed legs at the front and row of nubby spines on their belly. After 7-10 days of feeding, larval development is finished.
Larvae group together near the entrance and after dusk leave the hive. Their goal is to burrow into the soil ( about 4″ deep) nearby (usually within 3 feet).
But if the soil condition is not ideal, they are capable of crawling much farther – over 200 yards even. Here pupation takes place – the pupa goes through several stages to develop into an adult beetle. The cycle begins anew.
The timing of the life cycle of the Small Hive Beetle can vary greatly under good conditions. Time from egg to adult beetle can be very short.
And, beetles can live up to 6 months. This is why with the right conditions SHB populations can explode.
Over Winter in the Bee Cluster
Beetle reproduction stops in winter – but adult beetles overwinter in the bee cluster. Being a tropical bug, they must have a way to avoid cold winter temperatures.
They have another “dastardly” trait. They have developed the ability to stimulate a bee’s mouth-parts and receive food.
So the honey bees, that are holding the beetles imprisoned, actually feed them. Sneaky beetles. This behavior allows them to survive confinement.
And, because beekeeper tasks in Winter don’t involve deep inspections. We often have no idea those beetles are there – ready to reproduce once Spring comes.
How Beetle Infestations Kill Colonies
When the hive beetle population grows too big, the colony is in danger. It is the larval stage of beetle development that causes damage.
A large number of adult beetles & larva defecating in the honey can ruin a whole colony.
Beetle droppings contain yeasts that cause honey to ferment. You may even have fermenting honey running out of the entrance. The whole bee colony may abscond to escape this mess.
Helping Your Bees Control Beetles
Combined with varroa mites, nutrition problems, disease and other stresses, a beetle problem can be the last straw for a colony.
Unfortunately, some of the chemicals we could use to kill beetles will also harm honey bees. Care must be taken when using methods that have not been studied and approved for use. Do not rush to use every technique you read about online.
Here are some good management techniques you can use:
- use beetle traps before things get out of hand
- keep the area around the hive base clean and dry
- keep hive populations strong – avoid weak colonies
- minimize inspections during beetle season
- use pollen patties with care
Early Trap Placement
Most beekeepers experience beetle problems from Early Summer into Late Fall. Do not delay installing traps.
There are several types of hive beetle traps and many are inexpensive. If one type does not work for you – try another. No trap will solve the problem if you wait too long.
My basic rule : If I see more than 5 beetles, it is time to put traps and treatment options into place. Using traps with other management practices is the best thing we have right now.
Clean Area Around Hive Base
Beetle larvae pupate more easily in moist soil. Most beekeepers in “beetle country” try to place beehives in full sun.
Avoid tall grasses or thick layers of moisture protecting mulch around your hive bases. Find something more suitable to put under your hives.
My bee yard will not win any awards for it’s beauty but beetle larva will only find hard, red clay outside.
Keep your colonies on hive stands raised up off the ground. This can help keep the area underneath drier.
Avoid throwing pieces of burr comb and other hive debris on the ground near your hives. It is attractive to beetles, ants and other pests.
Keep Strong Hive Populations
Does the honey bee colony have a lot of space and too few bees to patrol it? Weak hives with too many boxes is a very bad idea in areas with hive beetles.
Strong colonies are less likely to be overcome by moderate numbers of SHB and can also protect themselves against – bee robbing.
Any situation that causes a drop in bee population opens the door for problems: swarming, queen problems, disease, etc. Monitor the number of bees in the hive all season long.
Limit Hive Inspections
We beekeepers unwittingly help the hive beetles. During hive inspections (which we must do), beetles are able to escape the corners where bees have imprisoned them. Now, the bees have to round them up again.
Limit unnecessary inspections during hive beetle season. Inspect when you need to know what is happening-but don’t overdo it.
Pollen Patties Can Be a Disaster
Do you like to feed your bees pollen patties? In beetle areas, extreme care must be taken when using pollen patties.
The pollen patty must be small enough to be consumed within 2 or 3 days. Otherwise, your pollen patty may become a beetle hotel. They are very attracted to the odor of pollen and will lay eggs in it.
Protecting Your Honey Harvest
Besides finding them in the hive, Small Hive Beetle larvae pose another problem for beekeepers. Supers of honey that have just been harvested from the hives should be extracted within a day or two.
Otherwise, any beetle eggs in the comb may hatch and destroy your entire crop. Don’t leave honey supers sitting in the honey house for weeks waiting for extraction.
Final Thoughts on the Small Hive Beetle
The world is a big place and “pests” have been moving from one location to another since time began. In today’s fast paced world, that process is made even easier.
If you find beetles in your hive, and you probably will someday – don’t panic. Squish them with your hive tool if you get the chance.
Put some traps in place and use good beekeeping management techniques. Help your bees – help themselves.
FAQs
They are small black beetles that enter the hive and run around on the comb. They hide in dark corners and run when exposed to light.
An adult SHB measures about 1/4″ long and is dark-brown to black. The size of the beetles in the hive can vary. It is not uncommon to see larger and smaller beetles on a single frame.
SHB are strong fliers – traveling miles at a time. They tend to travel at night and locate beehives by smell.
This hard shelled hive beetle walks right in the front door. They are very mobile too. SHB often travel with bee swarms to new locations.
You can also get them inside a hive when you buy honey bees in a nuc or hive with comb. This is why is it so important to only buy hives or frames of comb from beekeepers you trust.
Beetles are able to tuck their antenna and legs under their body, the bees find the difficult to remove. Honey bee stingers can not penetrate the hard beetle shell. Worker bees chase the beetles and corral them in corners.
There is no industry threshold for how many beetles are too many in a hive. But, find more than 10 or so is cause for action.
Beetle larva do not destroy the honey comb like wax moth larva.
Wax moth larva tunnel through comb leaving “frass”, droppings and webbing. Honeycomb infested with Small Hive Beetle larva takes on a slick, slimy, shiny appearance.
Our European honey bees chase adult beetles but they tend to ignore beetle larva. Africanized bees are more likely to remove beetle larvae from the hive.
You showed a beetle trap. What construction pieces did you use to trap the beetles. (I.e. type and size bottle, type, size, and length of tubing, bait in bottle, etc. )
That wasnt actually a trap, it was just a homemade device to remove them. Beetle jails are some of the best traps to use.
Hi Charlotte,
Would you recommend leaving the beetle jails in year round? I am up in the NorthEast Region during the winter months?
Thanks,
Walt
Hi Walter, I doubt they would do any good because the beetles will stay in the cluster with the bees. But, I cant think of a reason that it would hurt anything.
Unscented Dryer sheets, (yes, the ones for clothes) work too, as well as Swiffer pads….Cut it into smaller squares about 4×4. Then place them right on top of the uppermost frames in the corners. I use a small staple for dryer sheets. The bees know this is not supposed to be in the hive, so the grab and pull at the fibers….Fluffing it up, when it gets fluffed, the beetles can check in but get stuck. The bees seem to catch on to this quickly, and will chase them down into the traps……Old Farmers trick passed down to me…..Works for me and very inexpensive.
Yes, I do know some folks who use them. The whole dryer sheet thing didnt work well for me (and I am still a bit concerned about chemicals) but if it works for you – awesome. Anything to stop the beetles.
Fortunately I’ve never seen but a handful in my hives. I try to keep the bees healthy and in a space they can defend
Yes, not giving the bees more space than they can control is key to Hive Beetle control 🙂
Thank you Charlotte as I continuously learn from you. As well as the beekeepers who ask questions.
Hello Charlotte – This is more a curiosity and I hope you know the answer as I have struggled to find it. If you leave full honey frames out for too long the SHB eggs have a chance to hatch and ruin the honey. However, if you extract ASAP that is not a problem. So, why is it SHB eggs will hatch if in or on the frame, but not is a sea of extracted honey?
That’s a great question and I wish I had a for sure answer. Instead, I will say that due to the viscosity of honey, I image any eggs in it would be dehydrated by the honey pulling moisture out of them and may them not viable. However, this is just a swag on my part.
Here in Indiana I struggle with the SHB. I originally put mulch below my bees. I am now removing it. I’ll let you know if that cuts down my SHB issue.
I can not promise it will make a noticeable difference alone. I do know that having mulch and damp areas right around your hive makes it easier for beetle larva to pupate.
After inspection today I saw one larve about 1 inch long fall from my frame when I tilted it over. It had to be hive beetle larve. I’ve killed about 10 small hive beetles in my hive in past month. I didn’t think that was too bad. I have beetle traps on. What do you think that means that I had that big larve in my hive.
I wouldnt panic over a couple of larva. Both hive beetles and wax moths sometime find protected places where a larva can develop. As long you are not seeing an abundance of adult beetles, you should be okay. Chances are the larva was a moth larva – I have that happen sometimes between frames.
https://carolinahoneybees.com/wax-moths-in-bee-hives/
When feeding pollen patties place a beetle trap on both sides of the patties .
Have you had any experience with nematodes applied to the soil under the hive?
Beekeepers in my area were not successful using nematodes. Perhaps our hard clay soil played a role. I have heard other beekeepers say nematodes can be one part of a multi step process to control beetles.
I have coated the ground around my hives with a liberal dose of garden powdered limestone. This is a trick that I learned from a friend that visited beekeepers in Cuba, thats what works for them. The SHB do not like the lime. Another thing to consider is not leaving burr comb scrapings in the nearby bushes or on the ground near the apiary. Take them away. The less smell around the hive the better. SHB are generally not a problem in VT. but many bees are imported from the south, that have beetles. As Rose Ann a Danna would say “it’s always something”
I love your newsletter. It makes always sense.
I have a picture that I caught on a native rudbeckia of a “ harlequin” ??? beetle competing with the bees.
I tried to send it but it came back undelivered He disguises himself in the colors of the plant and some brown.
If interested tell me how to share it.
Thanks for all the good work
Ursula
Thank you. I would love to see your picture. Try sending it to [email protected]
Thanks Peter, and yes Rosaanna is right – it is always something LOL
You just answered all my questions! I’ve been away for a few weeks and came back to check on my hives and the first one I opened… no bees! But, there were many small larvae that looked like SHB and the frames in the super just looked really WET. Frame after frame, no bees, honey dripping, occasional larvae squirming or emerging… when I got down to the Queen excluder there were thousands of dead bees.
My mind raced through all the possibilities of culprits and diseases… what went wrong in such a short time?
I was heartbroken. I took a break before going deeper into the hive and went online to look for answers and found your page.
I’m sure that this is the problem from the description. So now, I need to get back out there and clean it out, do a thorough check of my other hives before it’s too late for them.
Thank you so much for your detailed description of the damage they do, it was the best I’ve read and the most useful in determining my dilemma.
I live in Western New York and we have had frequent rains the last few weeks causing weeds to grow quickly in my absence. I was actually weeding when I noticed the lack of activity in the hive.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss but I am glad the info was able to answer some of your questions. Best of luck.
We have a real problem with SHBs in west South Carolina where the soil is extremely sandy. I’ve lost two hives to SHBs and hate them with a passion. Use a variety of traps, but if the hive gets weak for other reasons SHBs can explode down here.
,
That is interesting, they do love dampness and soil that is easy to dig in to. They can explode in numbers in just a few days.