Thesmallhivebeetle,Aethinatumida(OrderColeoptera;FamilyNitidulidae),wasfirstdiscoveredinFloridainJuneof1998andhasnowbeenfoundin6otherstates,Georgia,SouthCarolina,NorthCarolina,Pennsylvania,OhioandMinnesota.TodatethebeetlehasnotbeenfoundinVirginia,butthemovementofmigratorybeekeepersfromFloridamayhavetransportedthebeetletootherstates.Recentfindingsalsoindicatetransportofthebeetlesinpackages.Ifyoudiscoverorsuspectthatanyofyourhiveshasaninfestationofsmallhivebeetles,contactaVirginiaapiaryinspector.
Thesmallhivebeetlecanbeadestructivepestofhoneybeecolonies,causingdamagetocomb,storedhoneyandpollen.Ifabeetleinfestationissufficientlyheavy,theymaycausebeestoabandontheirhive.Thebeetlescanalsobeapestofstoredcombs,andhoney(inthecomb)awaitingextraction.Beetlelarvaemaytunnelthroughcombsofhoney,feedinganddefecating,causingdiscolorationandfermentationofthehoney.
AdultSmallHiveBeetle,Aethinatumida
Larvaofthesmallhivebeetle,Aethinatumida..Notethespinesonthedorsalsideoftheabdomen.(Thescalelinesareinmillimeters.)
LifeHistoryoftheBeetle
AethinatumidawaspreviouslyknownonlyfromthesouthernregionsofAfricawhereithasbeenconsideredaminorpestofbees.ThelifecycleinformationisknownprimarilyfromstudiesinSouthAfrica.NodetailedstudieshaveyetbeenconductedinthedifferentregionsoftheU.S.wherethebeetlehasbeenfound.
ThesmallhivebeetleisamemberofthefamilyNitidulidae,mostofwhicharescavengersorsapbeetles.Theadultbeetleisdarkbrowntoblackandaboutone-halfcentimeterinlength.Theadultsmayliveupto6monthsandcanbeobservedalmostanywhereinahive,althoughtheyaremostoftenfoundontherearportionofthebottomboardofahive.Femalesbeetleslayirregularmassesofeggsincracksorcrevicesinahive.Theeggshatchin2-3daysintowhilte-coloredlarvaethatwillgrowto10-11mminlength.Larvaefeedonpollenandhoney,damagingcombs,andrequireabout10-16daystomature.Larvaethatarereadytopupateleavethehiveandburrowintosoilnearthehive.Thepupationperiodmaylastapproximately3-4weeks.Newlyemergedadultsseekouthivesandfemalesgenerallymateandbeginegglayingaboutaweekafteremergence.Hivebeetlesmayhave4-5generationsayearduringthewarmerseasons.
DamagetoColoniesandStoredHoney
Theprimarydamagetocoloniesandstoredhoneycausedbythesmallhivebeetleisthroughthefeedingactivityofthelarvae.Hivesandstoredequipmentwithheavyinfestationsofbeetleshavebeendescribedasamess.Asummarytakenfromvariousreportsofdamagecausedbythesebeetlesislistedbelow:
Larvaetunnelthroughcombwithstoredhoneyorpollen,damagingordestroyingcappingsandcomb
LarvaedefecateinhoneyandthehoneybecomesdiscoloredfromthefecesActivityofthelarvaecausesfermentationandafrothinessinthehoney;thehoneydevelopsacharacteristicodorofdecayingoranges
Damageandfermentationcausehoneytorunoutofcombs,creatingamessinhivesorextractingrooms
Heavyinfestationscausebeestoabscond;somebeekeepershavereportedtherapidcollapseofevenstrongcolonies湖北天马养蜂场，加我们的微信一起学养蜂。
ControlofHiveBeetles
ThesmallhivebeetleisconsideredasecondarypestinSouthAfrica,and,assuch,hasnotbeenthesubjectofmajorcontrolefforts.Thebeetleismostoftenfoundinweakorfailinghivesandrarelyaffectsstronghives.However,differencesinthehousecleaningtraitsofthebeesfoundinSouthAfricaandtheU.S.maymeanverydifferentresponsestothebeetles.SomeearlyreportsfromFloridaandSouthCarolinasuggestthebeetlesmaybemoredamagingherethaninAfrica.Stronghivesarestillprobablythebestprotection,andweakhivesshouldbecombinedorrequeened,butcareshouldbetakenagainstusinginfestedequipmentonnon-infestedhives.Protectionofstoredequipmentisrecommendedandsuperswithhoneyshouldnotbeleftstandingforanylengthoftime.PDB(paradichlorobenzene)hasbeenusedforprotectingemptystoredcombs.Coumaphosbeestrips(BayerCorporation)havebeenapprovedforuseinhivesforthecontrolofsmallhivebeetlesinsomestatesunderanemergencyregistration.CheckwithyourStateApiaryInspectoraboutwhethercoumaphosstripscanbeusedlegally.