THE WAX MOTH.

Shannon News, 28 October 1927, Page 2

THE WAX MOTH.

bane of the bee-keeper.

Mr D. S. Robinson, Apiary Instructor under the Department of Agriculture, supplies the Chronicle with the following notes upon a pest the beekeeper has to deal with; One of the diseases that a beekeeper has to contend with is the wax moth. There are two varieties in New Zealand; the larger wax moth known as Galleria Mellonella/ and the smaller one, Aeharoea Grisella. The favourite haunts of these pests are on top of the frames on the mats, and in all cracks or crevices of the liives. It is the larvae of these moths that cause the damage —bv destroying the combs, and once they get a strong hold of a hive they will very soon render every comb unfit for the queen .to lay in, with the result that the colony soon becomes weak and dies out. With Italian bees there is little trouble to be feared in this respect as the Italians resent the presence of the moths. Therefore, one method of control is t-q Italianise and keep all colonies strong as the moth are less likelv to attack a strong colony.

Any hive badly infected with this disease should be burnt at once. No combs should be left lying about, and any combs stored be protected from the moth being able to get at them. There are two materials chiefly used for the control of these pests, namely sulphur and carbon bi-sulphide. When using sulphur, if a fumigating chamber is not available, an emptysuper is placed on the ground. In this is placed an iron pan containing hot embers. Sulphur is thrown, on the embers, and the supers containing the infected frames and combs are quickly tiered up five or six high, and a cover is placed on the top one. The eloser the supers fit the more thorough will be the fumigation, as this method does not destroy the eggs but only the larvae, pupae and live months. The process should be repeated in from ten to twelve days when the eggs will have hatched. The amount of sulphur to use is half an ounce to every cubic foot of

niaterial to be fumigated. - 'Another method of treating frames infected with the wax moth is by the use of carbon-bisulphide. This is a highly inflammable liquid when mixed with air, and also very volatile. When exposed to the air at ordinary temperatures, the liquid quickly changes to gas, which is heavier than air, and also highly explosive. When using bisulphide, great care must be taken to keep it away from lights of every description. It is safest to carry out the operations in the open air away from all buildings. The gas from bisulphide, being heavier than air, a somewhat, different method of procedure has to be resorted to. In this case the supers, containing the diseased material are piled up five or six high. Raper is pasted round the junctions between the supers and over any cracks in • the supers. The bottom super should be stood in a tightly- fitting lid, or better still, be sunk a few inches in the ground, an empty super is placed on top of the tier, and into this a shallow pan or basin is placed. Have ready a well-fittiug roof, pour the bisulphide into the pan quickly, put on the roof, and leave the pile for 12 to 24 hours without disturb;, g, care being taken lo keep away al! lights when opening up the pile. Tim method should also be repeated after 10 to 12 days for the same reason as when using the sulphur. A warm day is best for, this operation as the bisulphide w-ill vaporise more quickly. Half an ounce of the liquid should be used for each cubic foot of material to be fumigated. Those who intend to re-queen their colonies should place their orders now with the queen breeders, as queens' are sent, out by the breeders in strict rotation, and it is the early queens that are likely to give the best results.