Small hive beetle

Small hive beetle
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Nitidulidae
Genus: Aethina
Species:
A. tumida
Binomial name
Aethina tumida
Murray, 1867

Aethina tumida, commonly known as small hive beetle (SHB), is a beekeeping pest.[1] It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, but has spread to many other regions, including North America, Australia, and the Philippines.

The small hive beetle primarily lives within the beehive and they are fed on pollen, honey and dead bees. The colonization can cause severe damage to honeycomb, stored honey, and pollen.[2] Beetle larvae may tunnel through combs of honey, feeding and defecating, causing discoloration and fermentation of the honey. If a beetle infestation is abundant and concentrated, they may cause bees to abandon their hive.[3]

SHB has shown unique behavior associated with pheromone. They can sense the honeybee's alarm pheromone, which is primarily released by the host to inform the host guards about the presence of invaders. This fitness advantage improves their ability to quickly locate and colonize the honeybee hives.[4] The host has evolved some strategies to cope with the colony damage, such as imprisonment of the invader, patrolling and removal of beetle's eggs.[5][6]

Small hive beetle can cause significant economic loss on bee colony, stored honey and package bee production.[7] Biological control method includes uses of fungi and fire ant.[8][9] Cultural control focuses on the hygienic practice of beekeeper.[3] Chemical control strategy includes uses of carbon disulfide,[3] Para-dichlorobenzene[10] and some chemical products in the market.

  1. ^ Hood, Michael (2004). "The small hive beetle, Aethina tumida: a review" (PDF). Bee World. 85 (3): 51–59. doi:10.1080/0005772X.2004.11099624. S2CID 83632463. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2014.
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