Common Threats to the Health of Honeybee Hives

Christopher C. Babcock, DMD, MD, provides surgical care to dental patients at Louisville Oral Surgery and Dental Implants. Living on a farm in Louisville, Kentucky, Christopher C. (Chris) Babcock, MD, enjoys beekeeping as a perennial activity.

To maintain a healthy beehive, keepers must watch for fungal and viral diseases. These can infect and threaten the well-being of an entire honeybee colony. Another issue is paralysis, which results from bees consuming fermented pollen or pollen from specific plants.

External threats to honeybees include bears and mice, with rodents particularly drawn to nesting inside warm beehives during the winter. While they typically inhabit a corner of the hive away from bees, mice can chew through equipment and leave a urine smell that keeps bees from using the hive when spring arrives. Wasps may also prey on bees going in and out of hives.

Insects that can infest and overrun honeybee colonies include the small hive beetle and the wax moth. The latter lays eggs in stored frames and beehives. The caterpillar that emerges tunnels through the wax for food.