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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: "birdcr AT concentric.net" <birdcr AT concentric.net>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [ocba] Call me the beetle killer!
  • Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:58:10 -0500 (CDT)


Folks,

I learned today a bit about the small hive beetle. It was first
found in the US in 1996. The females usually well out number the
males and the life cycle can be up to 6 brood cycles a season.
Here is the really bad part each female can lay over 1000 eggs in
her lifetime.

The new beetle trap currently in the past 24 hours has 50 dead
beetles in it, no larva seen. I killed more than 30 with the hive
tool inside the top feeder today. So I killed 80 of these nasty
bugs. If 60 of those were female and each laid 1000 eggs in the
hive my hive would be doomed with 60,000 larva in it. Of course
I'm sure the hive has even more beetles than the ones I killed
today.

I also read the the bees keep the adult beetles 'prisoner' but the
smart little beetles tickle the bees and get them to feed them
while being kept prisoner.


Cheers,
Randy Emmitt
Rougemont, NC
www.rlephoto.blogspot.com


  • [ocba] Call me the beetle killer!, birdcr AT concentric.net, 09/21/2011

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