DATE:     10/02/98
CONTACT:  Dr. Neil Ogg, (864) 646-2120
          Dr. Mike Hood, (864) 656-0346
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343

New Bee Pest Found in More S.C. Counties

     CLEMSON -- A South African beetle identified as a pest in
honeybee hives has spread to 14 South Carolina counties.
     The small hive beetle was first detected in July in
Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties by Clemson
University Department of Plant Industry inspectors, according to
Neil Ogg, director of Regulatory and Public Service Programs at
Clemson University.
     The beetle has since been found in hives in the following
counties: Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Colleton, Florence,
Hampton, Jasper, Lexington, Orangeburg, Richland and Sumter.
     "It's just sickening what they can do to a hive," Ogg said.
     The adults and larvae of the beetle are found in both active
bee hives and in stored bee equipment. They feed on honey and
pollen. The larvae tunnel through combs, damaging the hive. The
adult beetles are known to eat honeybee eggs. 
     The adult beetles defecate in honey and cause it to ferment,
making it unfit for consumption by either humans or bees. The
spoiled honey has to be discarded.
     Inspector Fred Singleton has the most experience tracking
down the beetle. He said the first symptom beekeepers will notice 
in an infected hive is a wet appearance on the tops of the frames
of honey supers.
     Ogg said beekeepers and regulators fear that the beetle is
being spread by shipments of package bees. The beetle has been
found in at least six southern Georgia counties, Atlanta and in
Florida.
     He said beekeepers should buy package bees only from
reputable producers who can certify that their packages are free
of beetles.
     Jack Jackson, head of the Department of Plant Industry, has
asked beekeepers to check their hives for the beetles. When in
doubt, specimens can be sent through Clemson Extension county
offices for identification or directly to Plant Industry, 511
Westinghouse Road, Pendleton, S.C. 29670.
     The adult beetles can be found on the bottom board of the
hive and often on the hive inner cover. They are small, about the
size of the honeybee's abdomen.
     Mike Hood, Clemson Extension bee specialist, said no
chemical controls are registered for direct use in hives to
combat the beetle.
     However, Von McCaskill, head of the Department of Pesticide
Regulation, said that under Section 2ee of the 1978 amendments to
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) it
is legal to use any pesticide for a pest not stated on the label 
as long as the site of application is on the label.
     Hood said that means beekeepers could use, for instance, a
compound labeled for fire ant control in a fire-ant infested area
as long as they follow proper procedures to prevent harm to their
bees.
     "They could use a granular material late in the day when
bees are not active and water it in well. By morning it should
all be soaked into the soil with no puddles of pesticide around
to kill bees when they start foraging again," he said.
     Hood said beekeepers should extract honey from supers
immediately following removal from the colony, since beetles can
build up rapidly in stored honey supers. They should also keep
colonies well-fed and free of disease and other parasites such as
mites. In South Africa, producers found that the small hive
beetle was a secondary pest that usually attacks colonies already
weakened by other problems.
     "The more things you can do to maintain a strong colony, the
better off you'll be," he said.
     He said beekeepers should not stack or store infested supers
onto strong colonies. They should also remember that supering
colonies, making splits, exchanging combs or the use of Porter
bee escapes can spread the beetles or provide room for them to
become established away from the cluster of protective bees.
     Beekeepers should also monitor colonies to make sure the 
bees are able to rid themselves of both larval and adult beetles.
Hood said bees are not able to penetrate the beetle's hard shell
with their stingers, but they can carry beetle larvae out of the
hive as they would a dead bee.
     "South African bee experts say bees will carry the larvae as
much as 150 feet away from the hive before dropping them," Ogg
said.
     Hood said preventive treatments in areas where the beetle
has not been found are not necessary. The major infestations seem
to be in the southeastern coastal plain.
     Ogg said researchers in Florida report that freezing honey
in the comb appears to kill both larvae and wax moth eggs and
larvae. Soil conditioning agents may also affect pupation of the
beetle. They are using muriate of potash to see if it will act as
a deyhdrating agent, similar to boric acid crystals for roach
control in urban environments.
     Florida researchers also say certain nematodes and two
strains of Bacillus thuringiensis show promise as soil amendments
for control in the pupal stage.
                         END