[ocba] Wax Moth (Galleria Mellonella) Infestation!
Lewis Cauble
lewis at hivebody.com
Mon Feb 23 22:33:39 EST 2009
Jeff,
My Beekeeper's Handbook indicates that you should freeze the frames at
20 degrees for 4.5 hours. The winter cold should have taken care of
the moths at this point, assuming the equipment was outside. You
should be good to go. Just clean up the frames and slap some new
foundation in them.
For what it's worth, my Beekeeper's Handbook also recommends using
fire ants to clean up infested combs. They also describe the wax moth
as naturally beneficial, because they destroy diseased comb of feral
colonies. They go on to say that they are a valuable commodity, used
as fish bait and pet food for reptiles and exotic animals and are
often a secondary business to many beekeepers.
Bottom line regarding this advice...No warranty written or implied.
Your milage may vary. Offer not valid in all states.
Cheers,
Lewis
On Feb 23, 2009, at 9:34 PM, Jeff Bollinger wrote:
>
> Hi everyone - we knew that we had a wax moth problem going into the
> winter
> back in December, and since our hive was dead and we got busy we never
> really had a chance to get into our dead hive and take a look. I
> finally
> went in this past weekend and took some pics of the wax moth
> infestation
> in one of our beehives:
>
> http://www.theocba.org/gallery2/v/Bollinger/waxmoths/
>
> Question - I've been reading that the only way to be certain the
> moths (of
> all stages: egg, larval, etc.) is to freeze your frames and hive
> bodies/supers in a deep freeze for a long period.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can reclaim this hive
> and
> start using it again this Spring? Would it be worthwhile to clean
> up all
> these frames (about 50) and boxes (2 deep and 3 med. supers) or
> should I
> just buy some fresh frames with new foundation? Or barring that, does
> anyone have a large deep freezer I can occupy briefly? :)
>
> Thanks,
> Jeff
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> http://www.theocba.org/
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