There is a cute little fellow most Beekeepers will meet sooner or later...


The Wax Moth larvae.




When left alone in the combs it will make a real mess of it and eat the frames clean of wax in no time.

	Here is a Lesser Wax Moth on a comb.
	The Greater Wax Moth.
	The characteristic mark of the Wax Moth larvae; the dark brown feaces.

Beekeepers in cold climate can reduce the damage on stored comb by killing the wax moth with low temperature. If the combs are kept in -7 C (20 F) for 4 hours, -15 C (5 F) for two hours, all stages of wax moths will be destroyed.

Fumigation with carbon dioxide for four hours will also kill all stages of wax moth.

A light bulb hung over a bucket of water will catch adult moths in the storage room and reduce the number of moths that mate and lay eggs in the equipment. Use soapy water in the bucket to prevent bad smell.



Now and then we can see the Bee Louse, Braula,
trying to steal food from Workers feeding the Queen.

Sometimes mistaken for Varroa Mite, the Braula is not known to do any harm to the Bees.



The small Braula larvae make tunnels under the cappings.