Wax Moths in Beehives
Wax moths in beehives can create a real mess in only a few weeks. Often, beekeepers open a hive to discover damaged comb, webbing and moth larvae crawling on the surface. The good news is that strong colonies are often able to defend themselves against moth infestations. But, weak or struggling colonies may be at risk of failure. Learn how to recognize wax moth problems early and prevent damage before it happens.
Thankfully, a few simple hive management tasks can help prevent major damage from this common honey bee pest.
Greater vs Lesser Wax Moths
The Lesser Wax Moth (Achroia grisella) – (left) and the Greater Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella) – (right) are both smaller grey-beige moths.
They are most active after dark and often enter the beehive at night attracted by hive odors.
Why Bee Hives Attract Moths
Wax moths are attracted to bee hives because they provide food, warmth and protection for young larvae.
Adult moths do not cause real damage inside the hive. The female moth is looking for a good place to lay her eggs.
Old dark honeycomb is especially attractive because it contains bits of pollen, bee cocoons and other material left behind by developing bees.
Warm weather encourages moth activity, which is why beekeepers must be extra vigilant during Summer.
Populous colonies are better able to chase adult moths from the hive.
Signs of Damage Inside the Hive
You may never see adult moths in your hives. I have found them many times in weaker colonies. But, not seeing them does not mean they have not been there.
What to watch for:
- Webbing & tunnels
- Frass & Debris
- Wax moth larvae and cocoons
- Bald brood & damaged frames
Webbing & Tunnels
The easiest method of detecting wax moth problems in a hive is the presence of webbing and tunnels in the honeycomb.
Moth larvae leave behind noticeable tunnels with a “spider-like” webbing. This leaves a webby mess for the beekeeper to clean up.
Frass & Debris on Frames
Frass is the excrement of insects. Larval feces (small cylindrical black pieces) can also be seen on the bottom board and in the webbing on the comb.
They look like tiny tootsie rolls – (no I have not).
Wax Moth Larvae & Cocoons
Sometimes, wax moth larvae can be found crawling on the comb surface or the bottom board. The larvae are easily confused with Small Hive Beetle larvae, another bee pest.
But, wax moth larvae create cocoons for their final developmental stage. You can see these anywhere inside the hive.
Bald Brood & Damaged Wood
Wax moth larvae may tunnel through the comb just below the cappings – causing a condition called “bald brood”. This often results in deformed (headless) adult bees.
Developing moth larva can damage frames and other wooden surfaces of the hive interior too. They actually chew out an area in which to attach their cocoon.
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Preventing Wax Moth Damage in Your Hives
The best way to treat wax moths in your hives is to avoid letting the situation get out of control. There is no safe chemical that you can put in your hive to kill moth larvae and not damage the bees.
These are some management practices that can help your bees defend themselves against wax moths.
- strong colony populations – manage population all season
- no excess boxes on hive – give bees the room they need – no more
- outside moth traps
Strong Colony Population
Especially during the warm season, you want strong healthy colonies. Lots of bees that cover most of the comb surface are good patrols.
If you split your beehive, or it splits itself by swarming – give them space (bee boxes) based on population.
Likewise, a colony that become queenless may dwindle in population without the beekeeper being aware. Monthly hive inspections are a minimum during warm weather.
Avoid Too Much Space
Avoid adding supers to the hive if the population cannot patrol the comb. We all make this mistake sometimes as we prepare for the honey flow.
Small colonies – (purchased package bees) will need several months to build a good population. This new hive is in danger of wax moth infestations if the beekeeper adds too many boxes at once.
Should You Use Moth Traps?
It is near impossible to keep wax moths out of a hive. In my opinion, traps are an exercise in futility – I have never used them.
Yet, you may live in an area where reducing the number of moths is worthwhile.
One common trap and bait recipe:
Use an empty soft drink bottle – with a one inch hole placed near the slope of the neck.
Fill the bottle with 1 cup of water – 1 cup of sugar, ½ cup of vinegar – add a banana peel. Let this mixture ferment for a couple of days. Then, tie it to a tree near the bee yard.
Experiment with different bait recipes. But don’t expect traps to be the complete answer to moth problems. They will not make up for good hive management.
Managing Moth Problems in the Apiary
In many cases, a serious moth infestation is a symptom of another colony problem rather than the original cause.
Wax moths do not kill established honey bee colonies. But they can make a big mess and cause the bees to leave.
Can a Colony Recover from Wax Moth Damage?
Seeing a moth or a few moth larvae is no cause for panic. This happens even in a strong colony when moths get into the tiny cracks and cervices.
Honey bees can clean and repair minor damage. The beekeeper helps by removing the worse frames and replacing them with new.
Reducing hive space may be necessary too. A 2 deep hive may need to temporarily be reduced to a 1 story deep.
A single deep may need to be in a 5 frame nuc for a while-until the colony population rebounds. This is a good reason to always keep an extra nuc box on hand!
Cleaning Up a Damaged Hive
If you have been in beekeeping for a while, you have likely experienced a box full of moth larvae and webbing. What a mess.
You may find a few bees trying to hang on or the colony may already be dead. If your bees are all gone (or too few to survive), it is best to disassemble the hive for cleaning.
Protecting Stored Honey Supers
One of the biggest mistakes made by new beekeepers is improper storage of honey supers. Your bees did a great job and you want to save all that beautiful wax for them to refill next year.
But, moth eggs can be present on those frames even if you don’t see any. In fact, they do some serious damage to drawn out comb. Learn how to protect it.
Contrary to common information, wax moth larvae can live on pure beeswax. This is another reason to try to keep honey bee brood out of your supers intended for honey collection.
FAQs
Wax Moth larvae eat beeswax, the remains of bee larval cocoons, bee cocoon silk and any bee feces in the cells.
You will never keep them all out of the hive. Instead, help your bees be strong enough to control the problem on their own and provide support with traps, box manipulation etc.
Those white grubs are the larval form of wax moth and will eventually pupate and become grey flying moths.
No, wax worms have small jaws and mouth parts that pose no danger to human skin.
A strong colony will keep them under control. However, once the moth population reaches a certain point – the colony will fail.
No, you should not try to save honey frames infected with wax moth larvae. It is best to freeze the frames for a few days – then save the honey to feed back to the bees.
Final Thoughts
Wax moths are frustrating, but they are usually a sign that a colony needs attention rather than the true cause of collapse. With regular inspections and good hive management, beekeepers can usually keep these pests under control.
The same can be said of Earwigs and roaches. Keeping colonies strong with the proper amount of space to guard will allow the bees to do the job.
Thank you. This was a very informative article for me – a new beekeeper
Thank you and best of luck for a great season.
One sure fire symptom I’ve noticed of wax moth presence is the smell. A sickly sweet smell that’s enough to turn your stomach.
That’s interesting, I have not noticed a particular smell.
I just lost my hive and do not know why. I found this article and found out what I did wrong and why the hive failed. This was my first year keeping bees. Thank you so much for the help and detailed information on the wax moths and also what happens when I give the bees too much room.
Oh no. I am so sorry to hear that you lost your hive. I know it may not be any comfort but those of us who have been keeping bees for a long time still lose colonies. Glad you hear that my article helped you understand how wax moths invade. Best wishes next time.
Sorry to bother you on this subject but I have a totally different issue with wax moths. A wild bee hive was discovered in our attic and the bees have been extracted, although I assume the hive is still embedded in an unattainable area. We have now found wax moth larvae crawling around our entire home interior.
Once the cycle is complete should we be free of these pests or should we have the hive extracted?
Appreciate any knowledge you may pass on.
Rick Morales
Yes that does happen. Moths move in to clean up the wax – just like in a wild tree. I would hope that the problem will resolve itself once the moths are finished. However, if you have any idea how the bees got into the attic – I would plug that hole before more move in.
How do you keep bees from drowning in wax moth traps? I found lots of dead moths but bees were going in and drowning too😔
Honestly, I don’t prefer external moth traps. Some beekeepers swear that they help keep moth populations down. I believe that keeping your hive strong with a good population and not too much space (not too many boxes) on is the best method to prevent moth damage. It is likely that your moth trap bait is too sweet.
After careful study we found the moths like to come in at the top of the hive do we purchased screen repair and put a screen cover over the small hole at the top. This still allowed ventilation but cut out our moth problems as the screen patch is sticky and with a hair blower it will stick to the wood. Also have greatly reduced hive beetles because the larvae will drop out of the hive and bore into the ground and then hatch out. So we purchased inch thick rubber mats and put our hives in them. It cuts down on grass near the hives and when any larvae hits the mats the sun kills them as they cannot bore through the rubber. Last year when we harvested honey we only had less than twelve hive beetles in five hives total. Just common ideas.
That’s wonderful. Glad to hear of your success.
When cleaning frames and foundations in preparation for storage, and to kill wax moth eggs, will soaking in bleach and water solution suffice in place off freezing?
I honestly don’t know. I know that some people do like to use bleach but I am not sure if it would do as good a job as freezing.
I have larvae in a hive. Thank for your posts. I think I can clean them up and reduce hive. Hive is a couple years old…?just shake off bees into new boxes or use vac?
Depending on how bad the infestation is….a colony with a good population of bees will clean them up for you. They get control when there is too much space (comb) and too few bees to patrol. You need to reduce the number of boxes on the hive or find out why your bee population is low.
What do I DO to a plastic bin that I had stored some drawn comb frames in and wax moths got to them? I set them in the FULL SUN and sprayed Home Defense BUT I have NO IDEA what to do next? How do I ASSURE that they are DEAD? Will they come back?
Well as for the plastic bin, I would not spray it with pesticides – especially if you ever plan to use it again. A good wash with hot soapy water should help remove cocoons etc. If there are still cocoons in there – scrape them out and burn them. Then wash your container.
We are first year beekeepers, in East Texas, one of our hives super was totally full of honey from this years nuc and the hive had grown large and was doing well. We noticed recently that the hive had gotten smaller figuring the hive was preparing for winter. Then we noticed a large number of bees flying outside the hive, after a closer look we noticed we had been robbed. All honey gone and most bees dead outside the hive and queen gone or dead. We have frozen the frames. The question is, “can we put some of those frames in the surviving hive to replace the frames where no activity has taken place?” BTW the girls are still being in pollen.
Absolutely, that’s a great way to get good use from frames of honey