I was absolutely stunned and horrified when I pulled off the inner cover. The feeder was full of dead bees and hive beetles and their larvae and wax moth trailings.
My first instinct was to just empty all that onto the ground, but I know that part of the life cycle of the hive beetle larvae is it crawling out of the hive and burrowing into the ground until it matures. If I emptied the liquid and bees and larvae onto the ground, I'd be taking part in furthering the beetle's life cycle. So rather than emptying it directly onto the ground, I spilled it out onto some garden netting and killed as many larvae as I could with the end of my hive tool.
And I sat there on the tree stump I use for a chair and I cried. If you know me at all you know I'm very passionate, and I have become attached to this weak hive in a way that I never thought I would, or could. Seeing what I saw today was just too much for me.
I saw one bee being born. One. And that is the very last bee being born out of the very last capped cell in the hive.
The strong hive had a lot of beetles in it also, no surprise there, but this hive didn't smell like fermenting oranges. The strong hive has a full medium of capped and uncapped honey which is a great sign.
In each hive I'd spent time squishing the beetles with the end of my hive tool. I noticed the bees rarely engaged the live beetles. They also really didn't do much with the dead ones, either. What it looked like to me was that they would engage the dead beetle briefly and then turn away, like it tasted bad or something.
I got a few pictures of some beetle larvae on the edge of my hive tool.
I called my mentor John and talked with him about what I'd been through today. He said that if the weak hive frames were dry, I could try taking two full ones from the strong hive and switch them out...the strong hive could feasably repair and fill the empty frames and the weak hive would benefit from having full frames...I could do that. I'm still on that list for a nuc, and I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow. But do I risk getting a nuc with the problems I'm having with the beetles? I asked John what he thought about getting nematodes from SEI. Since this is the first year John has had any beetles, he didn't know really anything more than what he'd read from the link I posted to their SEI's website. I told him I'd call SEI today and see about getting more information.
I have to go back out and see if there is any stored honey in any of the weak frames. If the hive is completely dry, it will be easier for me to merge it with the nuc. I am pretty sure I have 5 dry frames of the 8 in the hive. If I do switch to full frames into the weak hive, the nuc and my existing weak bees will only have three to fill. It's only a $108 gamble.
Phil Tedders at SEI was very helpful and although he admitted he didn't have all the answers I was looking for, just talking to him about their nematodes alleviated some of the anxiety I'm having about my SHB infestation. He also told me that his dad, Lewis, could answer any of my questions. I asked him to see if Lewis could call me before noon tomorrow. I ordered 5 million nematodes (I'm not sure who they pay to count those little guys!) and asked Phil to send me any and all information he could with my order. He did tell me that the order more than likely will contain 7 million nematodes, on gel, and they like to overestimate the number they send and they guarantee live delivery. 5 million nematodes will treat 10 hives so I'm going to have some to share. From their website, SEI says "Nematode species produced by SEI are used to attack and kill larvae of certain soil dwelling insect pests. These pests include, larvae of white grubs, Japanese beetles, root weevils, small hive beetles, armyworms, cutworms, fleas, clear-winged moths, and fungus gnats." So, in the event that I keep more than I need for my two hives, I have some garden area in the front of my house that could benefit from a treatment of nematodes. (I'm pretty sure I have Japanese Beetles)
I mentioned to Phil that I'd take the information to the LBA meeting and spread the word about their products and that I'd included a link to their website here on my blog. It never hurts to make friends with people who have something you need.
In addition to buying from SEI today, I also put in an order with Brushy Mountain for AJ's Beetle Eater traps, Fumigilan and Api Life Var. My total today was $104.62 for the nematodes and the things from Brushy Mountain. Tomorrow's cost of $108 brings my total to $212. It's a good thing my intent in learning this craft wasn't to make money. I wonder if the IRS would be upset if I tried claiming all of my "adopted" bees as dependants?
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