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Olly

Wax Moth warning

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Been meaning to post this warning - I took the remaining supers off my hive a couple of weeks ago, so that I could start feeding. There were three supers, not all full by any means, but with a few combs worth extracting in each. I stacked them on the kitchen worktop with a cloth over the top, as I was too busy to extract them immediately.

 

I finally got round to it about a week later, and to my horror the bottom super was infested with wax moth. :shock: For some reason, I hadn't expected this to happen in my kitchen - I don't know why, as the conditions were probably perfect, warm and dark. I think it had only been there for a day or as not too much damage had been done, I know how rapidly it can spread.

 

The affected frames are now in the freezer, and I'm waiting for some acetic acid so I can store them safely over winter. I know wax moth is supposed to prefer brood frames, but if you've got any supers in store do check them carefully because this mild weather is apparently just what they like.

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I've got my supers all stacked with a tray of acetic acid inside a wheeley bin liner. I leave them like that until about February or March when I unwrap the stack and air them throroughly.

 

Wax moths are insidious little blighters. Must have been a shock for you though, finding them in the kitchen? :shock:

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Answered my own question - vet said yes (no apiguard or anything else been on this hive)! Olly - in my haste and horror I didn't ask - did you have the grubs in your kitchen or the adult moth? I'd have been a shrieking wreck if it was the grubs - I now know they are huge :vom:

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:lol: Grubs - only a couple, but yes they are huge, and yes I did have a slightly hysterical moment! I somehow would have expected this if they were stored in the garage, but not the kitchen.

 

Chooks will love them, as I discovered them at night and didn't fancy leaving them around till morning, I just chucked mine down the sink and put the waste disposal unit on :twisted:

 

It's because there were only a couple of proper 'caterpillar' grubs, and a few more larvae, that I think it was a fairly recent infestation; they can spread very, very fast.

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