[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
> _______________________________________________
> ocba mailing list
> North Carolina Beekeeping
> http://www.theocba.org/
>

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