Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Avoiding Wax Moths
• Don't pile too many empty supers on top of a colony; only use enough to allow
the bees to keep moth larvae in check. You may find one or two larva in a small
colony, but they should be hard to find in a large colony.
• Make sure colonies are healthy. A stressed colony will have enough going on
without having to deal with moth larvae.
• Do not store empty honey or brood supers in moth-friendly environ-
ments—warm, dark areas with plenty of food, such as your basement or gar-
age.
• Wax moth larvae do not thrive when exposed to light and fresh air. A stack of
supers with a secure top piled in your basement is the perfect place for these
pests' populations to explode.
• If feasible, stack unused supers on their sides with a few inches between them,
and supers on top oriented at 90°. This placement allows light and fresh air into
the super, greatly reducing larvae activity. You can also build a rack that ex-
poses the supers while protecting them from rain. Expose, expose, and expose
your supers to keep moth populations manageable.
• You can keep a super or two on strong colonies after harvest and let the bees
handle the worms, if you live in moderate to cool regions.
• For a few supers, place the whole super in a freezer, set at 0° F (-18°C) for 48
hours. This kills eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults. Once the outside temperature
goes below 40°F (5°C), the temperature essentially halts all moth activity (but
does not eliminate them), and your supers are safe for the winter, no matter
where or how you store them, as long as it stays that cold.
• If outside storage or freezing isn't possible, as a last resort, you can put a moth
fumigant on a stack of supers. The only chemical approved for this is a formu-
lation of paradichlorabenzene available from bee supply companies. This is the
same chemical in crystal form used to protect clothes from destructive moths,
but without other fragrances and additives. Do not use any other formulation
of this chemical—it is a violation of the label and may damage your combs.
And then use it as a last resort and only sparingly. The wax will absorb fumes.
Before using next season, set frames outside one full week to air out and let as
much of the material evaporate as possible.
You can be pretty sure there are always some wax moth eggs in your colony. Adult
female moths routinely enter and lay eggs, but the tiny larvae are just as routinely re-
 
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