Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: rober on June 05, 2013, 01:07:48 pm
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treated 6 brood boxes of drawn comb with bt around 10 days ago. Sprayed them fairly heavy & made sure it had gone deep into the comb. Let them dry before storing them. set a box on top of an outer cover this morning getting ready to put it on a hive & when i lifted it there were 20 or so so larva on top of the inner cover. smushed them all & put all of those frames in the freezer. all of these frames were frozen for at least 4 days before i stored them & i had no problems until i treated them with the bt. so here is a barrage of questions?
-if some of these frames look clean what risk am i taking putting them on a strong hive?
-i do not have room in my freezer for all of these frames so if i stack them & put moth crystals on them will that kill these larva??
-i used the xertan bt using the recommended 2 tbsn per gallon of water. why would this happen??
-if any of these larva hit the ground could they survive or do they need to be in comb?
-could these be small hive beetle larva? do they ever get into stored comb?
here's a photo-
(http://s13.postimg.org/osyg51i5f/wax_moth_larva.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/osyg51i5f/)
(http://s18.postimg.org/8oqlkncn9/wax_moth_larva2.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/8oqlkncn9/)
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some of your questions i'll leave for others because wax moth is not the problem for me that it is for others BUT if you are concerned about putting a box on that still has some wax moth in it, don't be.
a strong hive will drag out the larvae and repair the comb. it's fun to watch in an observation hive.
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I'm not really sure that those are wax moth larvae...don't look like SHB either. They look kinda like blow fly maggots.
Scott
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They look like wax moth larvae, from what I can make out. SHB larvae have spikes. SHB larvae also slime things and are in a slimy mass usually. Wax moths make webs. Wax moths do NOT pupate in the ground. SHB do pupate in the ground. If you think you have very many, freeze the combs first for 24 hours in a good cold freezer and kill them first.
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i'm pretty sure that they are wax moth larva. there are a few small patches of that black web crap. there was a small area of dark brown fine sawdust looking stuff under the boxes. i put what i could fit in the freezer. i stacked the other 3 boxes with moth crystals until i can get them into the freezer. i went thru them & picked 9 clean looking frames to put on a hive. terrible timing as i really need those frames. i'll have to install foundation on a few frames for now.
why do you think the moths got into those frames right after i treated them with BT???
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I guess I'm wrong but wax moth usuall don't look that "pointy" to me.
Scott
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I had wax moth larvae last year and thats what mine looked like except yours are kinda orangy. Mine were white.
Chris
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What is Xertan --- Certan maybe or B401 or Xentari. What is your source do you have the right bt. How old is the bt and how has it been stored. And remember the bt does not prevent the initial grub. The grub has to eat the bt and then dies.
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I’m not sure BT will kill wax moth caterpillars once they get bigger than their 2nd instar. Something about BT only being able to puncture their stomach/guts when they are 1 cell thick. As SC bee says, they also have to eat the BT to have any chance of killing them.
I’ve had plenty of wax moths in the past, but I have to agree with the others; your larvae look a little strange for some reason.
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it was xertani from abbott laboratories that i bought thru hidhut.
what other critters would get into comb? as i said there were a few small patches of that black webbing you see when wax moths are present. most of the larva were white but a few had orange-ish ends. i think i'll take a few to the bug people at the zoo. they've id's larva for me before.
but- no matter what they are if placed in a strong hive the girls should clean them out eh?
as far as freezing the frames is 24 hours long enoug? i've always heard 48 hours was the recommended time-frame for freezing.
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I've read that 2 -3 days in the freezer to kill eggs, the larva will die in a few minutes.
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That’s what I’ve heard too, but we have way more than 2 or 3 days of freezer like temperatures in the winter up here yet we still have plenty of wax moths. SOMETHING can survive the cold temps. Maybe it’s the pupae stage; I don’t know.
I agree that just a short time in the freezer will kill the caterpillars. Yipee X:X
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Don't forget to take some down to the local bream spot.
They are great bait
Bailey
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Am I a bad beek? In the summer, if there is moth, I just throw it on the hive and let the bees take care of it. I worry about them in the winter when I am storing boxes, and don't want to open up a mess.
Are moth worse in some parts of the country than other parts? In my experience, if the bees can patrol the frames - the moth all get killed before honey or brood gets deposited. Is there super-moth than can escape the bees in a growing hive?