In bee colonies that are already under stress from other pests or diseases, the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) is able to get past the guard bees to raid the hive’s essential stores of pollen, ripening nectar, and honey.
This is a particular concern for beekeepers in warm climates, such as Florida, where many hives are taken to overwinter — and where the hive beetles can prosper. Since its discovery on the continent in 1998, the pest has spread throughout the eastern part of the United States.
In 2005, Peter Teal and his colleagues at the Chemistry Research Unit at the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, Florida, patented a trap that’s based on the natural processes of the small hive beetle.
When small hive beetles invade a beehive, they bring in a yeast that grows on the pollen. “As the yeast grows and ferments, it releases compounds that mimic honey bee alarm pheromones and are highly attractive to other beetles,” says Teal. “This sets off a cascading effect. When the beetle population gets too high, the bees have no choice but to abandon the hive, leaving beekeepers without honey and their bee colonies.”
The trap is baited with the small hive beetle yeast and installed below the hive, separated from it by a set of sliding doors with small cone-shaped holes. Beetles go through the holes and into the traps, but then can’t get out again.
The traps look very promising for small-scale beekeepers — about 60% of the industry in the US — who can tend their hives frequently and keep the traps cleaned out.
Now, a larger version of the SHB trap is in the works. It should better suit the needs of large-scale beekeepers, who may maintain as many as several thousands hives and obviously can’t tend to them all every couple of days.
Down the road, the hope is to come up with a similar way to trap Varroa mites, too.
- See also:
- A Trap for the Small Hive Beetle
by Sharon Durham, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff
published in the November/December 2007 issue of Agricultural Research magazine - Canadian Honey Council: Small Hive Beetle in Canada
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Animal Health: Import Policy for Bee Products
Written by workerbeej
Topics: World of Apiculture