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ocba - [ocba] FYI: Photo of SHB larvae tearing up a frame

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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Blair Christian <blair.christian AT gmail.com>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org, durham-county-beekeepers AT googlegroups.com
  • Subject: [ocba] FYI: Photo of SHB larvae tearing up a frame
  • Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2012 21:39:57 -0400

So I had a small swarm (~2 lbs), which I put into a 10 frame hive with
one frame of brood from my strong hive and the rest foundation. I put
on a feeder and came back 10 days later and found this when I pulled
the frame of brood
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q-NfFqNj6D6vBhaoPDz0LZ7U4W6tiA-PmQPFcO_LMe0?feat=directlink

It's enough to knot up your stomach. I'm no expert, but I think the
difference from wax moths (from what I've heard) is that wax moth
larvae have webs, and SHB larvae are slimy.

I learned what can happen to a weak hive. Today, I put them into a 5
frame nuc (4 frames- 2 partly drawn out pieces of foundation, 1 new
mixed brood, 1 new foundation, and a division board feeder), and they
fill up the space nicely. Hopefully it's the right amount of bees for
the space.

I also learned that these small swarms can be "after swarms", and can
occur after a primary swarm (which has the original queen). The after
swarms can have virgin (unmated) queens, so it may take a week before
I may see eggs/larvae. I'm crossing my fingers, and hoping that they
can make a queen if something happens on the mating flight or some
other tragedy.

Hope this is useful- I guess the lesson is make sure your ratio of
bees to frames is about right. For me, it's filling at least 1/2 of
the frames, and hopefully 2/3-3/4 of the frames in the hive where you
put them... In the future, 2 lbs of bees or less will go in a 5 frame
nuc, 2-4 lbs in a deep, 4.5-6 lbs in 2 deeps...

Best,
Blair



  • [ocba] FYI: Photo of SHB larvae tearing up a frame, Blair Christian, 04/02/2012

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