APITHOR Hive Beetle Harbourage Trap

APITHOR Hive Beetle Harbourage Trap

The APITHOR Hive Beetle Harbourage Trap is a novel invention designed as a single-use, disposable device that can be easily inserted and removed from standard hives without the need to open or dismantle hives. It is actively sought out by the target pest without the need to include attractants or baits. Some of the key attributes of the device are:

• Two-piece rigid plastic design
• A delivery system that takes advantages of the beetle’s behavioural vulnerabilities
• Tamperproof after assembly (ultrasonic weld or glue)
• Precise size openings that allow beetles in but exclude bees
• Protective of C-flute cardboard insert
• Cardboard insert set back from openings to prevent contact by bees’ mouthparts
• Black
• Compatible with silicone adhesives
• Disposable in household garbage
• No user access to the insecticide-treated insert
• Long shelf-life and time-in-service.

Safety for Bees

APITHOR has been fully evaluated for its safety to beehives. The below photo exemplifies this as it shows how in one hive the bees had actually produced a comb on the APITHOR Harbourage!

Pestrol for all your insect needs

Development of the Small APITHOR Hive Beetle Harbourage Trap

Considerable research by the Industry & Investment NSW | Primary Industries with financial support provided by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) has lead to the development of the Hive Beetle Harbourage that has proved to be both safe and highly effective in controlling beetles in the hive. Development was based on three equally important cornerstones:

• Selection of an insecticide that combines excellent toxicity to beetles with favourable physicochemical attributes for in-hive use
• A delivery system that takes advantages of the beetle’s behavioural vulnerabilities
• Safety to bees and bee products

Extensive laboratory testing demonstrated that fipronil was extremely potent against small hive beetle adults. It has very low vapour pressure, low water solubility and is seemingly undetectable to insects. The small hive beetle is a shy insect that harbours in cracks and crevices in preference to remaining in the open. In the hive, it is subject to harassment by bees so this habit can be exploited by providing a ‘safe’ haven in a lethal harbourage. Core-fluted corrugated cardboard is an excellent substrate for insecticide impregnation and also provides an ideal refuge for the beetles. The cardboard is subject to attack by bees which in turn are vulnerable to the insecticide, so a two-piece rigid plastic protective housing was developed. The device is tamperproof and prevents operator or bee contact with the insecticidal insert. Size differential prevents bees from entering whereas beetles enter easily.

A honey residue trial conducted according to Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) Guideline 28 Residues in Honey demonstrated that use of the device showed no fiprole residues in honey at a detection level of less than 1 ppb.

Results of efficacy trials conducted under an APVMA Permit indicated that deployment of a single harbourage on the bottom board of infested hives achieved a 100% reduction in the number of live adult beetles within six weeks.

Industry & Investment NSW | Primary Industries and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) have been granted patents in Australia and the USA. Ensystex Australasia Pty Ltd has been granted the exclusive licence to commercialise the Hive Beetle Harbourage.

DAI-288, Revised June 2005
MJ Fletcher Principal Research Scientist
LG Cook Veterinary Officer, Chemical Control

The Small hive beetle, Aethina tumida (Murray) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) is native to South Africa but is not regarded as a serious pest there. It reached prominence as a pest when it was found in Florida in 1998 and it has now spread to fifteen states in the eastern half of the United States where it sometimes does serious damage to beehives. The pest was confirmed in beehives in the Sydney region in October 2002. It is thought that the Small hive beetle (SHB) will thrive in tropical, semi-tropical and temperate climates although there is little confirmatory information on this available.
The larvae contribute to hive death and damage stored hive materials, though damage seen locally has been minimal. They feed on live brood and honey and their excrement contaminates the honey, causing fermentation.

IDENTIFICATION

The adult beetle, which is the stage most commonly seen, is black or dark brown, ovoid in outline and about 5-7 mm long (Figure 1). They have clearly clubbed antennae and wing cases (elytra) shortened so that the apical few segments of the abdomen are visible (Figure 2).

 

In general, the adult beetles are about one third the size of a worker honeybee. The adult beetles lay small elongate whitish eggs in clumps in beehives. The eggs are smaller than honeybee eggs but similar in shape and colour.

The larvae grow to 10-13 mm long, cigar-shaped and pale whitish cream (Figure 3). Their most distinctive feature is the presence of two rows of short spines along the centre of the back, with the last two projecting beyond the rear end of the larva (Figure 4). When fully grown, the larvae enter the soil in front of and beneath the hive to pupate. The SHB larva should not be confused with the Wax moth larva, which has a number of prologs (see Figure 5) in addition to its thoracic legs and also spins web or cocoons.

Other beetles in the family Nitidulidae include Carpophilus species (the dried fruit beetles) and Aethina concolor (the hibiscus flower beetle), a very common species in hibiscus and magnolia flowers. These species differ from A. tumida in size and shape and, in Carpophilus species at least, in colouration.

 

HOW TO CHECK YOUR BEEHIVES

The steps below outline the method by which a beekeeper should inspect hives for the presence of SHB. Note that beetles will move quickly away from the light when the hive lid is opened.

1. Initially, remove the lid and place it on the ground upside down. Place the super on top of the lid and leave it for about a minute. Lift the super off the lid and quickly look for beetles, which will have moved onto the lid away from the light.
2. If no beetles are seen, remove brood combs one at a time, examine all surfaces and place each frame outside the hive. Continue until all frames have been examined and the brood chamber is empty.
3. Examine the floor of the brood chamber, particularly looking in the rear corners of the bottom board where the beetles will hide from the light.
4. If the bottom is not attached, remove the brood chamber and examine the bottom board. Again, the beetles will tend to run away from the light, so be quick.
5. Pick up the beetles either using fine-tipped tweezers or in your fingers. Place the beetles in a sealed container and put them in a freezer overnight to kill them.
   Supers/frames held for extraction could be infested with larvae – check them too

DIRECTIONS FOR USE

Place on bottom board of hive.

Restraints (ACT, NSW, QLD, WA & VIC only):
Do not use in hives with perforated bottom boards.
Do not use in hives subject to water inundation.
Do not open or remove the insert from the harbourage device.

1. With a hive tool, paint scraper or similar implement remove wax and debris from a sufficient area of the bottom board to accommodate the harbourage.

2. Place harbourage, flat surface down, on the bottom board with the slot ends aligned away from the hive entrance.The harbourage must sit flat on the bottom board such that beetles cannot shelter underneath.

3. In hives with corrugated or distorted bottom boards apply a thin bead of silicone sealant to the outer edge of the underside of the harbourage and press down firmly onto the bottom board.

4. Unless stuck to the bottom board a thin wire may be attached to the harbourage to facilitate later removal from the hive via the hive entrance thus removing the need to open the hive.

5. Monitor harbourages for damage or for ‘waxing up’ of the slot entrances. Replace if damaged or when effectiveness declines.

6. Remove harbourages when control has been established or after 3 months.

NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE, OR IN ANY MANNER, CONTRARY TO THIS LABEL UNLESS AUTHORISED UNDER APPROPRIATE LEGISLATION.

WITHHOLDING PERIOD NOT REQUIRED WHEN USED AS DIRECTED

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS For use under APVMA permit PER12007 only.

PROTECTION OF WILDLIFE, FISH, CRUSTACEANS AND ENVIRONMENT Dangerous to aquatic arthropods. DO NOT contaminate streams, rivers or waterways with the product or used containers.

STORAGE AND DISPOSAL KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. Store in the closed, original container in a dry, cool, well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight. Dispose of used product by wrapping in paper, placing in a plastic bag and place in a garbage bin.