Prevent spread of the small hive beetle
Key messages
One replicated trial in the USA tested the effect of using mite-killing strips in commercial honey bee Apis mellifera transport packages, to reduce the spread of small hive beetle. More than half the beetles escaped the packages and were not killed by the strip.
Supporting evidence
In a replicated, controlled trial, Baxter et al. (1999) tested methods to control the spread of small hive beetle in packages for transporting honey bees Apis mellifera for the beekeeping industry in Texas, USA. They placed 'Checkmite strips' (containing the organophosphate coumaphos) in various positions inside or on the packages and intentionally introduced ten or twenty adult beetles. More than half the beetles escaped from the packages through a ventilation panel and were not trapped or recovered. A Checkmite strip hanging in the middle of the package killed 94% of the remaining beetles. Beetles were not lured out of the packages by light traps.
