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can find their way into a hive during a summer night by slipping past the guard bees right at the entrance. Females lay eggs inside the hive, eat honey and pollen, and chew through beeswax, leaving behind nasty tunnels and a cobweblike mess. They can even chew on the woodenware and spin cocoons that are difficult for the bees to remove. Often, wax moths will invade the frames after they have been removed from the hives while they are being stored in a warm place prior to the removal of the honey. Freezing your honey-filled frames for three to five days kills the moth eggs because they do not tolerate cold temperatures. Beekeeping suppliers offer a variety of treatments for wax moth.

Recipe for Grease Patties

MAKES 8–10 PATTIES

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup solid vegetable shortening

2 cups granulated sugar

1 oz. peppermint or wintergreen essential oil

over medium heat in a large pan, melt vegetable shortening. When the shortening turns clear, add the sugar. Mix well until the sugar is completely dissolved. Turn off flame and add the peppermint oil. Stir well. Let cool. Spoon ¼ cup of the mixture between two pieces of wax paper and flatten to make one patty. Continue to make patties until you’ve used up the mixture. Freeze the patties until you’re ready to use them. Place one patty on the top bars between your two hive bodies in early spring.

SMALL HIVE BEETLE (SHB): These dark brown to black-colored beetles (Aethina tumida) are native to South Africa, but were found in Florida in 1988. Typically preferring warmer climates, they find their way into weak colonies and will eat live brood and honey. Honeybees cannot fight back or sting them through their hard shell. Female SHBs lay up to five hundred eggs at a time, overwhelming the colony, and the beetle larvae spread slimy mucous around the hive. Sometimes these vermin can cause damage similar to that of wax moths, leaving an awful smell of fermentation in a hive, an indication of infestation. Spiky larvae in and on the combs en masse cause lots of damage. Beekeeping suppliers offer a variety of treatments for SHB.

SACBROOD: Adult bees are immune to the sacbrood virus, but it affects worker and drone larvae during brood rearing in the late spring. Spotty brood patterns leave larvae as watery sacs with their heads protruding, and these young bees are left dead in the cell. This virus is thought to be transmitted by the house bees. The good news is that this virus usually goes away in late spring, but there are no treatments for it.

CHALKBROOD: Called the “mummy disease,” chalkbrood is a powdery fungus, Ascosphaera apis, that spreads to larvae through their stomachs. The fungus was discovered in the United States in 1968 and is increased by too much moisture inside a beehive. After the fungus spreads its spores, it consumes the worker and drone larvae, leaving behind only white, pelletlike kernels (“mummies”). The house bees dispose of the kernels by removing them from the brood cells and leaving them at the front entrance of the hive. Replacing your queen, keeping the hive well ventilated and dry, and removing chalkbrood-covered frames will help clear up this problem.

EUROPEAN FOULBROOD (EFB): EFB is a stress-related bacterial disease caused by the bacterium Melissococcus pluton and spreads through the brood nest when young larvae eat infected food. Young larvae turn brown and die inside the cells, becoming twisted, slimy, and rubbery. This final stage is called scale. Once spores spread, you will see a spotty brood pattern with many concave cappings and sunken or partially capped brood. Antibiotics are a necessary treatment. Follow directions carefully when treating EFB.

AMERICAN FOULBROOD (AFB): AFB is also a bacteria, and it is caused by Paenibacillus larvae spores infecting young honeybee larvae through their intestines and, ultimately, their blood. This devastating disease is spread by adult bees and on infected beekeeping equipment, including hive tools and woodenware. The spores turn white larvae black, and the larvae die soon after being capped. Sticking a toothpick