Frame Guide › Pests & poisoning
Wax Moth Damage: what it looks like on the frame
The outside frames of a colony that's been dwindling for a month.
Silk webbing strung across the face, tunnels chewed through the comb, and a grub with a dark head at the end of one. The webbing is the giveaway — beetles slime comb, moths spin it.
Treat the real problem — the colony was too weak to defend this comb
Wax moths are a symptom, not a cause. They only take comb a colony is too weak or too small to patrol, so the question is why the colony dwindled — mites, a failed queen, or too much space for its size. For comb you're storing off the hive, 48 hours in a freezer kills every egg and larva in it.
Easy to mistake for
- Small Hive Beetle Slime-OutHot, humid August. The box smells fermented, like rotting oranges.
- American Foulbrood Warning SignsSpotty brood, sunken greasy cappings with pinholes, and an odd smell.
- ChalkbroodCool, wet spring. You spot chalky white bits on the landing board.
Could you spot this with the lid off?
Read the Frame deals you 8 random frames. Say what you see, say what you'd do, and find out why. It's free and runs on your phone.
Drill pests & poisoning → Mixed round (all 32 frames) →More pests & poisoning
- Varroa Mites & Deformed Wing VirusAugust · your alcohol wash came back at 9 mites per 100 bees.
- Small Hive Beetle Slime-OutHot, humid August. The box smells fermented, like rotting oranges.
- RobbingLate August dearth. Bees wrestling on the landing board.
- Bald BroodJune · a good colony, but these lines of open cells caught your eye.
- Pesticide PoisoningA field next door was sprayed in bloom yesterday. Piles of dead bees out front today.
- Healthy Colony, Low Mite CountLate June · an alcohol wash of 300 bees turned up 2 mites.
These frames are drawn to teach the pattern, and real frames vary. From The Alleman Apiary in Middletown, PA.