Hive Devastated by Wax Moth (Gilbert,AZ)

Sad day at Luckey Bee Farms, we opened this hive and found that wax moths had destroyed the wax and hive completely.  See if you can find the wax moth larva in the box. Yuck

Luckey Bee Wax Moth Devastation Wax moths make their nests in the comb. The larvae chew the beeswax and eat cocoons, debris, honey and pollen.  Luckey Bee Wax Moth DevastationMost of the bees have left the hive.  Here you can see all the wax moth cocoons at the bottom and their poop.
Luckey Bee Wax Moth DevastationYou can see the paths that the larvae took to get thru the comb.
Luckey Bee Wax moth devastation Luckey Bee Wax Moth Devastation A close up of the cocoons and the damage from the larvae.Luckey Bee Wax Moth DevastationThe larvae can move pretty quick, there were two moving across the comb.

Wax Moth Devastation Sadly this hive was unable to be saved.  We took it out of the hive box, some of the bees were foraging the honey.Wax moth devastation Since the farm animals like the larvae we took the infested comb out to the pasture.  Everyone was very curious.Wax Moth Luckey Bee Drone Had a sweet little drone on my bee suit.Luckey Bee Farms TurkeysThanksgiving is coming!

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