# what are these bugs in my hive? (picture)



## harmon (Jun 15, 2013)

in the third frame from the bottom on the side you can see this little bug, there were several in one of my hive (a good performing hive)

What can I do about it, what is it? Just a random bug that likes honey or is it an identified bee hive problem?
https://goo.gl/photos/LYNSPgJtfn6psoeV6


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Small hive beetle. Look here: http://www.easttxbees.com/smallhivebeetle.htm

Most important is to get your hives away from trees and into full sun.


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## harmon (Jun 15, 2013)

Thanks for the response. I live in a clearing in a holler so am surrounded by trees. The hives are at the western edge of the clearing to get the most sun. I will try to find an area that isnt subject to floods though. They are about thirty feet from the treeline now.


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## rruiz331 (Jul 19, 2012)

I know that it is an old conversation, but the small hive beetle has a very limiting life cycle. It really does not fly much, but it can. The adult lays its eggs in the hive, the larvae feed, drop to the ground from the colony to pupate, as adults they simply climb back up into the hive and start again. 
Years back, I had suggested placing the colonies on sand while adding a silica desiccant because the pupa is a plump, unprotected grub. It would be the easiest way to stop the cycle. 
At the time, the small hive beetle was a big problem in Florida that moved to Georgia even though there was a quarantine placed. There was no observations of a spread which led many to believe that quarantine violations had occurred, but could not be proven. With colonies being constantly moved and swapped, the "spread" has only gotten worse. 
I am no longer doing any bee research, so I don't know if my suggestions were ever considered.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

I've heard quite a few people are now salting heavily underneath their hives in an effort to kill the larvae. I put black conveyor belt underneath my hives to block grass and I figure that black hard rubber in August just might fry the little buggers. They have done experiments and the larvae can crawl a long ways, so just having a barrier under the hives isn't effective. 

Folks are having some success with putting used dryer sheets, swiffer pads and microfiber strips into their hives. The legs of the beetles get tangled up, but apparently bee legs do not get caught in the fibers. I'm going to try this in some of my nucs as those are my worst culprets for beetles. The JZ-BZ nuc boxes unfortunately have lots of places for beetles to hide.

Next year I plan to make some small hive beetle lure traps and see how those do. I'd rather catch them outside of the hive rather than in the hive.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

I know very little about bees but I have been experimenting with natural items to reduce/kill fungus gnats. I have ground up raw sesame seeds and put them on the top of the soil for houseplants on the premise that there is a chemical in sesame seeds that is toxic to the fungus gnat larvae. It seems to reduce the occurrence. I don't know if the sesame roots of growing plants releases the chemical into the ground. 

One drawback inside is that if you don't grind it thoroughly you have sesame plants germinating where you don't want them and they do tend to mold on the top of the soil if a little too wet. I don't think mold would be a problem outside...


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## MamaMick (Jan 8, 2015)

Diatomaceous earth under the hive?


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