Information about the Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Program 2024

Small hive beetles (SHB) (Aethina tumida Murray, Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) are native to sub-Saharan Africa. The beetles were introduced into the southern United States in the 1990s through unknown origins (Hood 2000). They were first identified in Florida in 1998, and a quarantine restricting the movement of hives was established by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. However, the beetle was discovered across state lines and in an insect collection in South Carolina that had been compiled a few years prior, so the quarantine order was lifted (Hood 2004, Ambrose 2016).

SHB is not considered a pest of honey bees in its native African range. It is beneficial since it primarily invades sick colonies of the African honey bee, Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier. African honey bees abscend from the hive more frequently than the western honey bees, Apis mellifera mellifera, leaving the cleaning of the empty and possibly diseased hive to scavenging SHBs. Since western honey bees tend to remain in their hives, SHB can become a pest of managed colonies (Neumann and Elzen 2004).

Distribution: SHB is now widespread throughout beekeeping regions of the United States. The beetles can be transported in bee packages or with migratory beekeepers. It is also established in Canada, Australia (Neumann et al. 2010, Beverley 2021), and Mexico (Hernández Torres et al. 2021). Some of the newer global introductions include Korea (Lee et al. 2017), Portugal, Italy (Jamal et al. 2021), Chile (Araneda et al. 2021) and Brazil (Pereira et al. 2021).

As a beetle, SHB has four life stages: eggs, larva, pupa, and adult. SHB can have five generations a year. Infestations peak in the late summer through the fall.

Eggs: Eggs are white, 1.4 mm long, and laid in clusters. Eggs can be laid in honey bee brood cells, but they are also deposited on food sources like pollen or in crevices away from bees (Hood 2004). Eggs hatch in three to six days depending on environmental conditions (Somerville 2003).

Larvae: The larvae are creamy-white with a tan head, measuring up to 12 mm long (Lundie 1940). They have three pairs of prolegs and two rows of small spines running the length of their back and a pair of stout spines on their last abdominal segment (Figs. 1 & 2). Larvae feed on bee brood, pollen, and honey. They remain larvae for 8 to 29 days depending on temperature. Larvae enter a wandering phase 6 to 14 days after hatching and leave the hive to find a pupation site in moist soil nearby.

SHB larvae are often confused with the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella L.) larvae. Both are pests of honey bees and can be found in active and stored hives. Common characteristics include the similar creamy white color of the larval body with three pairs