Corrugated plastic or cardboard strips function as refuge traps that exploit the natural survival instincts of Small Hive Beetles (SHB). By mimicking the dark, narrow crevices beetles seek to escape bee attacks, these strips concentrate the pests into a specific, observable location for easy identification.
Small Hive Beetles instinctively flee from honey bees into tight, dark spaces to survive. By introducing corrugated strips, you provide an artificial "safe harbor" that induces beetles to hide within the material's narrow tunnels, allowing for rapid visual confirmation of an infestation—even when beetle numbers are low.
Exploiting Beetle Behavior
The Drive for Refuge
Small Hive Beetles are intruders in the colony and face constant aggression from guard bees.
To survive, their primary defense mechanism is to seek out dark environments and physical crevices where bees cannot reach them.
The Corrugated Structure
The cross-section of corrugated plastic or cardboard consists of a series of narrow tunnels or gaps.
These gaps are physically ideal for the beetles, offering a secure hiding place that excludes larger honey bees.
Instead of scattering throughout the hive, the beetles are induced to congregate inside these strips.
Strategic Deployment for Detection
Placement and Duration
To use these tools effectively, they are typically placed at the bottom of the beehive.
The strips should remain in the hive for several days to allow time for the beetles to locate the refuge and settle inside.
Improving Visual Detection
In colonies with low-level infestations, beetles are elusive and difficult to spot during a standard frame inspection.
By pulling out the strip, a beekeeper can instantly observe the beetles hiding inside the tunnels.
This transforms a difficult search into a quick, binary confirmation of whether beetles are present.
Understanding the Trade-offs
Monitoring vs. Control
It is critical to distinguish between detection and elimination.
While these strips trap beetles in one place, the primary reference defines them as diagnostic tools used to evaluate severity.
They concentrate the enemy for counting, but they do not inherently exterminate the pest on their own.
The Role of Hive Hygiene
While strips detect adults, they do not address the environmental factors that encourage infestation.
Supplementary measures, such as managing ground cover or using screened bottom boards, are necessary to inhibit hiding behavior and manage larvae.
Making the Right Choice for Your Goal
- If your primary focus is Early Detection: Use corrugated strips on the hive floor to identify low-level infestations before they become visually obvious on frames.
- If your primary focus is Infestation Assessment: deploy the strips for several days to aggregate the population, allowing for an accurate estimate of severity.
By turning the beetle's survival instinct against it, corrugated strips provide a low-tech, high-efficiency window into the pest load of your apiary.
Summary Table:
| Feature | Function in SHB Detection |
|---|---|
| Mechanism | Exploits beetle instinct to hide in dark, narrow crevices from honey bees |
| Structure | Narrow corrugated tunnels allow beetles in while excluding larger bees |
| Placement | Bottom board of the hive for several days |
| Primary Use | Diagnostic tool for early detection and population assessment |
| Outcome | Concentrates elusive beetles into one observable area for visual counting |
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References
- . Panel On Animal Health And Welfare. Survival, spread and establishment of the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida). DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4328
This article is also based on technical information from HonestBee Knowledge Base .
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