Enemies of the Honeybee
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During the last year, we lost 50% of the honeybees across
the United States. The honeybee’s life is surely not an easy
one. There are many problems that the honeybee faces on a
daily bases.
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Mites
The number one killer of the honeybee, are mites. There
are two kinds of mites, the Varroa Mite and the Tracheal
Mite.
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Varroa Mite
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 The
Varroa mite is a small, red, parasite that attaches itself
to the honeybee feeding on it very much in the same way a
tick does to a dog. Once in the beehive, some off these
mites detach themselves from the bee and begin to breed
within the hive where their young attach themselves to the
honeybee larvae forming in the cells of the honeycomb. Once
overcome with theses mites a hive will become too weak to
survive.
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Tracheal Mite
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The Tracheal mite is another small parasite that uses the
honeybee as its host. The tracheal mite does not attach
itself to the honeybee like the varroa mite does but
instead, gets into the bee’s trachea where it breeds. As
more of these mites are born they begin to clog the trachea
of the bee which eventually dies of suffocation.pgp8 registration key
Bears
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As we all know, bears love honey. There’s something else
in a beehive that they love as well and that’s the brood.
The brood is the larvae of the bees which are forming in the
cells of the honeycomb. These larvae are high in protein and
make quite a tasty snack for the bear. Because bears have no
dining etiquette, they will just tear a hive, leaving it
totally destroyed. They will usually destroy several hives
in a bee yard in one evening.pgp8 registration key
Skunks
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 Another
animal that loves to invade beehives, are skunks. Skunks
approach the situation in a different manner though. Skunks
actually like to eat the bees themselves. During the night,
a skunk will paw at the entrance of a beehive. As the bees
come out of the hive to see what’s going on, the skunk eats
them.pgp8 registration key
Spiders
 Spiders
also love to eat honeybees. Spiders will often build their
webs on or around beehives and as the bees are flying in
they become trapped in the web. The spider then runs down
and wraps up the poor bee to have as a future dinner.pgp8 registration key
Wax Moths & Wax Worms
 Wax
moths fly into a beehive to lay their eggs. When the eggs
hatch, the moth larvae which are known as wax worms begin to
eat through the honeycomb leaving a trail of webbing. This
destroys the honeycomb and eventually kills off the colony
of bees. pgp8 registration key
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Hive beetles
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 Hive
beetles will get into a beehive where they too will begin to
breed. Before long, the hive becomes overrun with these
beetles and the honeybees die off or are forced to leave
their hive in search of a new home.pgp8 registration key
People
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As with most of nature, humans are always an enemy. Many
honeybees die from insecticides. People are also destroying
the habitat of the honeybee by destroying the flowers,
fields, and forests that the honeybees depend on for their
nectar.pgp8 registration key
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