Update on natural mite fall….

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Gary Fawcett

Today we went to the Auckland Beekeepers Club meeting, it was good to put a face to the Massey bee enthusiast – sorry we didn’t get a chance to chat further. 

I took my photos of the crawling things and showed it around, the scary looking one that looks like a scorpion is called “pseudoscorpion” check out this web site for more info  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo_scorpion

…turns out this little fellow is a good guy : ) he eats the mites off any type of insect whilst they are travelling around just like they are a mobile restaurant !  These guys are beneficial to your hive.

So was very excited at this discovery – thanks to the club members who helped us to identify this guy : )

By the way on first visual inspection we missed the mites so I suggest that if you are doing a mite check , use a magnifying glass to really be sure what the natural fall reveals.  I have added some other photo’s just in case you missed the last ones.  The other little guys on the second photo are assumed to be the younger version of the pseudo scorpion…impress your friends by telling them about him ; )….happy bee keeping !

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About Gary Fawcett

Gary enjoys designing new kiwimana products which we sell through our on-line shop. He is passionate about saving the Bees and encouraging urban beekeeping. Gary loves to write about issues that affect the Bees and our environment. He is also into tramping/walking in the beautiful New Zealand bush.

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3 Responses to Update on natural mite fall….

  1. Matt says:
    February 14, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    Hiya sorry I couldnt stay and chat my dad was sitting in our driveway waiting for me to fix his computer! =( Maybe next time….

    • kiwimana2 says:
      February 15, 2010 at 9:29 am

      Hiya, that’s okay we stayed awhile and Dennis did a bee inspection on hive 3, very interesting we spotted the queen and Paul marked it, we also saw varroa’s (yuck) walking around large as life on the brood. Saw some other issues with brood called brood sack I think its called and the larvae looks like a white blob (also yuck !) but it was good to see so you know what to look for. Regards, Margaret

  2. James Dearsley says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:42 am

    Good news on the Scorpions! how nice to finally find something good for the hive! I haven’t heard of those things before but at least I will now know what to look out for.

    Hope all is well on the other side of the earth!

    From a very wet and cold Great Britain.

    James

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