Wax moth are rampant this year

[jeff33]

Not sure if it's the hot weather or my supers now being comfortably housed in a new warm shed but the wax moth larvae have been rampant! I had a stack of wet supers in the shed with beginning of infestation in 3 supers across 3 frames, all this within 3-4 weeks of extraction.
Another BB with 10 full frames of honey was also fair game. The whole lot got the sulphur burning treatment.
It's the first time I have seen so much of it, I usually don't have this problem nor do I treat boxes and frames until November.
Are the BB frames full of stores ok to give back to the bees for winter feed?

 

[Nannysbees]

Same here, put the extracted supers in the garage while we were waiting for a freezer and two of the frames were riddled!!!! Goodness knows if we'd left the supers for the winter without freezing what state they'd be in, not good I suspect!!!!

 

[ericbeaumont]

Not sure if it's the hot weather or my supers now being comfortably housed in a new warm shed

Optimal reproduction temp. of Greater Wax Moth is 32C.

Two years ago I used a commercial greenhouse to store boxes of combs. Big mistake, lost the lot.

Now I spray everything with Bruco.

 

[Nick Lang]

As a second year beekeeper I haven't come across this problem yet.....What are first/early signs?

 

[pargyle]

As a second year beekeeper I haven't come across this problem yet.....What are first/early signs?

Tracks in the comb and white cocoons ... sort of weblike fuzz on the top - by this stage they are in there ... if you can spot the tracks early on you might be able to find larvae and dig them out. Once they are established they make a dreadful mess that the bees can't clean up .. the frames are largely a bonfire job.

They usually only attack combs that have had brood in them or dry supers. There are plenty of preventative treatments .. freezing (but you need to get temperature very low and give them a good long time, Spraying with Dipel, Sulphur burning ... all work.

Watch out for the adult moths.. there are two, the Lesser and the Greater Wax Moths - look the same but the Greater is much bigger. Most healthy colonies will not tolerate them in the hive ... if you see one coming out alive you probably already have a problem.

If you leave inspection boards in place, clean them off regularly and don't scrape the debris onto the ground in the apiary as it will attract them.

The grubs are very destructive ...they will eat into wooden hives and absolutely demolish poly ones.

 

[Swarm]

As a second year beekeeper I haven't come across this problem yet.....What are first/early signs?

If they are stacked, you might see some powdery dust on any board you have below, if so investigate.
On the comb, as Phil says, tracks through the cells, tubular fross often with poo along it. Scrape along the track and you will come to the larva. Hold the comb to the light and you may be able to see them.
If any of your combs have seen brood or pollen, they are a magnet. Wet or dry makes no difference and not all colonies are so quick to oust them so be aware they may already be there.
I went years and years with no problem and then lost a good few supers worth. I could have done with them this year.

Edit: I've sprayed them every year since, Like Eric, it's not a mistake you want to make twice.

 

[jeff33]

Any pros and cons with the various treatments?
Sulphur is cheap but have to deal with fumes and after smell which takes over the shed and clothes. Full frames of pollen and honey can be returned to hives for bee consumption.
Dispel is expensive, time consuming (1 frame at the time compared to a stack of supers with sulphur).
Freezing... having to deal with the better half for taking over the freezer!
Anything else?

 

[mdotb]

Any pros and cons with the various treatments?
Sulphur is cheap but have to deal with fumes and after smell which takes over the shed and clothes. Full frames of pollen and honey can be returned to hives for bee consumption.
Dispel is expensive, time consuming (1 frame at the time compared to a stack of supers with sulphur).
Freezing... having to deal with the better half for taking over the freezer!
Anything else?

Fumigation with acetic acid also works (though not against the pupal stage, so you need to leave the stack for long enough to cover any pupae emerging) though the concentration needed is pretty nasty stuff to handle, the stack really needs to be outside while treated and the treated boxes do still smell of it, so are often aired for a bit once finished. Biggest issue with using acetic acid though is that the vapour corrodes metal - frame runners, nails, wires in foundation, anything else it can get to, (whether in the stack of boxes or not).

Kills off lots of other things too, if there’s a risk they might be in your comb, but unless you need that benefit it probably isn’t the quicker easier solution you’re looking for…

Several options to choose from but all have downsides.

 

[Erichalfbee]

YUK! I've never had a problem with my wet supers but I think I shall go have a look at the stack this morning Dipel at the ready.

 

[jeff33]

Fumigation with acetic acid also works (though not against the pupal stage, so you need to leave the stack for long enough to cover any pupae emerging) though the concentration needed is pretty nasty stuff to handle, the stack really needs to be outside while treated and the treated boxes do still smell of it, so are often aired for a bit once finished. Biggest issue with using acetic acid though is that the vapour corrodes metal - frame runners, nails, wires in foundation, anything else it can get to, (whether in the stack of boxes or not).

Kills off lots of other things too, if there’s a risk they might be in your comb, but unless you need that benefit it probably isn’t the quicker easier solution you’re looking for…

Several options to choose from but all have downsides.

yes, I used 1 one season and that was it!

 

[The Poot]

I destroyed the frames and comb three supers this year that had been stored wet. All three had been the “half” of over wintering on brood and a half. My other wet supers, which had just been used as supers, were fine.

 

[Swarm]

I destroyed the frames and comb three supers this year that had been stored wet. All three had been the “half” of over wintering on brood and a half. My other wet supers, which had just been used as supers, were fine.

If you have frames in the same box that have seen no pollen or brood, you sometimes get a web trail stuck to them as they are bypassing those to hunt out the protein, in those cases, it is fairly easy to remove.
The product link that Eric posted is a bit cheaper than Dipel but they are both expensive and 500g is a lot of treatments. Maybe a good idea to club together and share the cost if you know other beekeepers in the area?

 

[The Poot]

If you have frames in the same box that have seen no pollen or brood, you sometimes get a web trail stuck to them as they are bypassing those to hunt out the protein, in those cases, it is fairly easy to remove.
The product link that Eric posted is a bit cheaper than Dipel but they are both expensive and 500g is a lot of treatments. Maybe a good idea to club together and share the cost if you know other beekeepers in the area?

That sounds like a plan

 

[ericbeaumont]

I haven't come across this problem yet

Assume that you will and treat combs in storage. As above, early signs are the webbing in tunnels or across the face of the combs, but eggs are too small to see and are a laid in frame cracks and corners. Small black grains are the larval frass, or poo.

Dispel is expensive, time consuming

Dipel or Bruco is effective and you could divide the tub and sell to other beekeepers; use it within two years. Bruco is £4.50 cheaper at the 500g rate and uses the same nematode: bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki.

Bacillus Thuringiensis ssp aizawai will kill box moth in a similar way and maybe it will work on galleria mellonella. At £7 delivered you may like to try it and let us know. Do not be misled by the trade name XenTari on the package; read further and you'll see that it's B.t aizawai.

It takes very little time to treat a stack once the sprayer is loaded: you don't even have to take out every frame fully from the box.

Biggest issue with using acetic acid though is that the vapour corrodes metal

Also corrodes concrete and should be used with gloves and eye protection.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Dispel is expensive, time consuming

Yes, but here are the costly results of an invasion; about 15-20 boxes of combs gone and box repairs needed, especially to poly. The pupating larvae in the wooden box are dead, sprayed after the damage was discovered.

Using Milliput for repairs; easy to mix and sand.

 

[Bodiam Bees]

Morning all ... having just started my main extraction, I've already found the dreaded moth and its larvae. The supers were stacked in the garage on the smooth floor and draped in dust sheets. No interest from wasps or bees so, one might assume, relatively safe. I've had problems in the past when storing and blame a couple of old BBs (used as supers) that have the occasional pinhead width imperfection. Freezing, for what it's worth, is tricky. The Management goes bonkers when she finds frames strewn throughout "her" freezer.
Now to my thoughts:
1. It strikes me that bruco / sulphur etc. kills an infestation but doesn't protect against future insurgency?
2. Given the state of a couple of my BBs, perhaps seal with a thin, foam glazing tape?
3. Regarding storage, what about something like a 110L airtight trunk (Scuba Box XL Black Water Resistant Storage Trunk) to take a load of frames or is there a risk they'll go mouldy despite being bee-cleaned?
Any hints'n'tips welcome!

 

[drex]

After treatment, usually with sulphur, mine get stacked in the shed. Boards top and bottom and ratchet straps. No signs of damage when opened in spring.
@ ericbeaumont , and I thought the old WBC boxes I inherited were bad. That really is a good lesson in what they can do

 

[Ely]

I recently returned to beekeeping after a few years. I had the same problem. I thought I'd stacked everything up nice and tight but most brood frames were annihilated. Honey frames were fine though. Never mind. I'm looking forward to some cathartic frame building over the winter!

 

[The Poot]

Yes, but here are the costly results of an invasion; about 15-20 boxes of combs gone and box repairs needed, especially to poly. The pupating larvae in the wooden box are dead, sprayed after the damage was discovered.

Using Milliput for repairs; easy to mix and sand.

View attachment 33598View attachment 33599

Yuk!
Just looked up Milliput as I’d not come across it. It sounds a brilliant product - must be great for poly repairs.

 

[pargyle]

Expensive ...I use it in wood turning for filling voids and decorative effects .. cheaper and just as effective is p38 car body filler. Use disposable gloves as it's a beggar to get off the skin and only mix up as much as you need. Goes off quicly and can be sanded in about an hour though if you smooth it off with a plastic blade it does not need much sanding. Ronseal wood filler is good too.