Small Hive Beetle Essay

Aethina Tumida, Small Hive Beetles (SHB), is native to sub-Saharan Africa, and it is a regular pest to the African subspecies of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus. Be that as it may, the beetle has been located outside of its natural habitat, where it is known to cause extensive damage to the plethora of colonies of the European subspecies of honey bees. In 1996, the small hive beetle was first sighted in the United States across a variety of states. There is no clear answer to how the beetles came over to the United States, but a multitude of people have the belief that the SHB first settled in Florida, and as the beekeepers from Florida migrated across the United States, the beetles followed. A. tumida is an invasive species and is causing many damages to the beekeeping …show more content…
The European subspecies of honey bees do not have the characteristics to affectively fight against A. tumida as the African subspecies of honey bees do. As a result, there has been a surfeit of research done in order to find out more about the beetles economic and biological influence.
As previously noted, small hive beetles are causing massive amounts of problems for people in the beekeeping industry. There have been many early reports about the damages caused by the beetles, and it has led to thought that these beetles might have more of an impact here in the United States than they did back in Africa. As stated previously, African honey bees were more aggressive in nature than the European honey bees. Because of this trait, the African honey bees were able to effectively ward off the presence of small hive beetles, especially in strong colonies. In the weaker honey bee colonies in Africa, the beetles had a better chance of dominating, but it was very unlikely. In places where there are numerous European honey bee colonies, the small hive beetles are able to persevere in both strong and weak colonies. Reports have further illustrated that the