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--Apple-Mail-6-962220592 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; delsp=yes; format=flowed Hi folks, On 6-Jun-07, at 7:24 AM, Peter Payzant wrote: > Some experts in the honeybee realm feel that a possible explanation =20= > for hive collapse might be the Small Hive Beetle Aethina tumida. =20 > This European import was first discovered in Florida in 1998. Actually Aethina tumida (Murray) is a native of South Africa. > The larvae and adults damage comb, honey and pollen. While in the =20 > colony, they release a yeast which lives on honey. The yeast =20 > releases a pheromone which attracts more beetles. In sufficient =20 > numbers the beetle overwhelm the bees' ability to cope and the bees =20= > simply flee. > > There was a segment on the CBC science programme Quirks and Quarks =20 > last month on this beetle, and you can find it, along with lots of =20 > background material, here: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/06-07/=20 > may12.html > Another interesting article on this species by Malcolm Sanford =20 (packed with useful information for beekeepers on how to help combat =20 the problem) is located at: http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/bees/=20 small_hive_beetle.htm This species has not been found in Canada although it has been =20 recorded as far north as Pennsylvania and New Jersey so there could =20 be some concern about its spreading even further north. Those interested in bees and beetles might also be interested in a =20 recent paper by my colleagues Keith Philips, Cory Sheffield, and =20 myself on two species of hive-infesting beetles which have recently =20 been found in Nova Scotia. The paper is: Majka, C.G., Philips, T.K., and Sheffield, C.S. 2007. Ptinus =20 sexpunctatus Panzer (Coleoptera: Anobiidae: Ptininae) newly recorded =20 in North America. Entomological News, 118(1): 73=9676. And a PDF reprint is available at: http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/Ptinus_sexpunctatus.pdf In it we report the Palearctic spider beetle, Ptinus sexpunctatus =20 Panzer, for the first time in North America from collections in Nova =20 Scotia, Pennsylvania, and Utah. It has found in association with the =20 native blue orchard mason bee, Osmia lignaria Say in the Annapolis =20 Valley. The beetles live in bee nests where they feed on dead bees =20 and other discarded organic matter, but also sometimes on the larvae =20 and puape of living bees. In Germany they have been observed to be =20 very damaging to the bee colonies. They appear to have been =20 inadvertently imported from Europe to the western United States. =20 Hives of O. lignaria were then transported from Utah to Nova Scotia =20 for evaluation of this species as an apple pollinator and the spider =20 beetles were imported to Nova Scotia in association with them. Also imported in the nesting tubes of these colonies were individuals =20= of the western meloid beetle, Tricrania stansburyi Haldeman, a native =20= North American beetle which is known parasite of bees. There is no =20 evidence, however, that the latter species has established itself in =20 Nova Scotia, but both of these introductions point to mechanisms that =20= can bring exotic species to the province, with potentially =20 deleterious effects to not only honey bees, but also to other native =20 species of cavity-nesting bees. All the best! Chris _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.=20= _. Christopher Majka - Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3A6 (902) 424-6435 Email <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca> _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.=20= _. --Apple-Mail-6-962220592 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=WINDOWS-1252 <HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; = -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi folks,<DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On = 6-Jun-07, at 7:24 AM, Peter Payzant wrote:</DIV><BR = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type=3D"cite"><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; = border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New = Roman; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; = font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; = text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: = 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; = white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><FONT = face=3D"Arial"><FONT size=3D"2"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "></SPAN><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; = "></SPAN><DIV style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; = ">Some experts in the honeybee realm feel that a possible explanation = for hive collapse might be the Small Hive Beetle </SPAN><EM = style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; = "><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-family: Arial; = font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; ">Aethina tumida.</SPAN></EM><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; = "> This European import was first discovered in Florida in 1998. = <BR></SPAN></DIV></FONT></FONT></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">Actually <I>Aethina tumida</I> (Murray) is a = native of South Africa.</SPAN></DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type=3D"cite"><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; = border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New = Roman; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; = font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; = text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: = 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; = white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><FONT = face=3D"Arial"><FONT size=3D"2"><DIV style=3D"font-family: Arial; = font-size: 10px; "><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-family: = Arial; font-size: 10px; ">The larvae and adults damage comb, honey and = pollen. While in the colony, they release a yeast which lives on honey. = The yeast releases a pheromone which attracts more beetles. In = sufficient numbers the beetle overwhelm the bees' ability to cope and = the bees simply flee.</SPAN></DIV><DIV style=3D"font-family: Arial; = font-size: 10px; "><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-family: = Arial; font-size: 10px; ">=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV style=3D"font-family: = Arial; font-size: 10px; "><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">There was a segment on = the CBC science programme Quirks and Quarks last month on this beetle, = and you can find it, along with lots of background material, here: = </SPAN><A = href=3D"http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/06-07/may12.html"><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: = Arial; font-size: 10px; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; = ">http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/06-07/may12.html</SPAN></A></DIV><DIV = style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; "><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; = ">=A0</SPAN></DIV></FONT></FONT></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Another interesting article = on this species by Malcolm Sanford (packed with useful information for = beekeepers on how to help combat the problem) is located at:=A0<A = href=3D"http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/bees/small_hive_beetle.htm">htt= p://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/bees/small_hive_beetle.htm</A></DIV><DIV><= BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>This species has not = been found in Canada although it has been recorded as far north as = Pennsylvania and New Jersey so there could be some concern about its = spreading even further north.</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Those interested in bees = and beetles might also be interested in a recent paper by my colleagues = Keith Philips, Cory Sheffield, and myself on two species of = hive-infesting beetles which have recently been found in Nova Scotia. = The paper is:=A0</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">Majka, C.G., Philips, T.K., and Sheffield, = C.S. 2007. <I>Ptinus sexpunctatus</I> Panzer (Coleoptera: Anobiidae: = Ptininae) newly recorded in North America. Entomological News, 118(1): = 73=9676.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>And a PDF reprint is = available at:</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><A = href=3D"http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/Ptinus_sexpunctatus.= pdf">http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/Ptinus_sexpunctatus.pdf= </A></DIV><DIV><BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">In it we report the Palearctic spider beetle, = <I>Ptinus sexpunctatus</I> Panzer, for the first time in North America = from collections in Nova Scotia, Pennsylvania, and Utah. It has found in = association with the native blue orchard mason bee, <I>Osmia = lignaria</I> Say in the Annapolis Valley. The beetles live in bee nests = where they feed on dead bees and other discarded organic matter, but = also sometimes on the larvae and puape of living bees. In Germany they = have been observed to be very damaging to the bee colonies. They appear = to have been inadvertently imported from Europe to the western United = States. Hives of <I>O. lignaria </I>were then transported from Utah to = Nova Scotia=A0for evaluation of this species as an apple pollinator and = the spider beetles were imported to Nova Scotia in association with = them.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">Also imported in the nesting tubes of these = colonies were individuals of the western meloid beetle,=A0<I>Tricrania = stansburyi</I> Haldeman, a native North American beetle which is known = parasite of bees. There is no evidence, however, that the latter species = has established itself in Nova Scotia, but both of these introductions = point to mechanisms that can bring exotic species to the province, = with=A0potentially deleterious effects to not only honey bees, but also = to other native species of cavity-nesting bees.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>All the best!</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Chris</DIV></DIV><DIV><BR><DI= V> <P style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face=3D"Times" = size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px = Times">_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._= ._._._.</FONT></P> <P style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT = face=3D"Times" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Times">Christopher Majka = - Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History</FONT></P> <P style=3D"margin: = 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face=3D"Times" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Times">1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada<SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 </SPAN>B3H 3A6</FONT></P> <P = style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face=3D"Times" size=3D"3" = style=3D"font: 12.0px Times">(902) 424-6435 <SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 </SPAN>Email <<A = href=3D"mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca">c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca</A>></F= ONT></P> <P style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face=3D"Times"= size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px = Times">_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._= ._._._.</FONT></P> </DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>= --Apple-Mail-6-962220592--
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