Small Hive Beetle update

[gavin]

I have to say that the apparent success of the eradication attempt in southern Italy is surprising ... and good. It might still be lurking somewhere there - or elsewhere in Europe - but this sea of green dots for 2015 is very promising.

From the Italian vet site: http://www.izsvenezie.it/aethina-tumida-in-italia/


http://www.sbai.org.uk/images/shb12June.jpg

[EK.Bee]

Negativo great news

[Adam]

Surprising indeed.
Welcome if true.

[prakel]

Truly inspiring if it's proven that they've eradicated it.

Then again, it's also validation for mass destruction. Sometimes one person's victory is someone else's loss.

[silveyjr]

What about the case in Switzerland though?

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

[alclosier]

That was confirmed as not being shb. One of the recent SBA mags had this confirmed.

[greengumbo]

Excellent news. The Italian authorities deserve a big pat on the back :)

[Bumble]

Are there any further updates? Here's hoping the area is still clear.

[gavin]

The maps on the Italian vet service web site (usually the most up to date site) are showing that it was still clear on 7th July. All looking good.

http://www.izsvenezie.it/aethina-tumida-in-italia/

[Bumble]

That's good news, thanks.

[Jimbo]

Heard tonight from a reliable source that SHB has been found again in Italy in the same area as the last outbreak
The SHB was discovered about 3 weeks ago
I don't know if it was found in 8 colonies or 8 Apairy sites
It looks like the plan to eradicate the SHB last time was not successful


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[gavin]

A couple of weeks ago it was only 2 sites. Now it is up to 9, not so good.

http://www.izsvenezie.it/documenti/temi/api/aethina-thumida/2015/situazione-epidemiologica/figura-1-zona-protezione-calabria.pdf

[greengumbo]

A couple of weeks ago it was only 2 sites. Now it is up to 9, not so good.

http://www.izsvenezie.it/documenti/temi/api/aethina-thumida/2015/situazione-epidemiologica/figura-1-zona-protezione-calabria.pdf

14 now :(

[gavin]

Hmmnn. At that rate of recurrence they'll never eliminate it. Did they stop inspections and just re-start them recently? Those detections will likely be against the background of beekeepers trying hard to eliminate it themselves, fearing the torching of their stocks.

[Bumble]

e they'll never eliminate it.
I think that's a foregone conclusion, but maybe they'll be able to contain it for a while?

[Greengage]

If you have time you should have a read of this book, Its too late the horse has bolted, enjoy the time left.
http://us.macmillan.com/thesixthextinction-1/elizabethkolbert

[fatshark]

I think that's a foregone conclusion, but maybe they'll be able to contain it for a while?

I'd like to think so, but suspect that economics and greed will get in the way ... how long can they continue paying compensation? They've destroyed 3200++ hives so far. Once the compensation is reduced or stopped then people will stop reporting the beetle, or will start hiding hives. The beetle has never been eliminated from anywhere it has become established ...

On a related point ... does anyone know whether beekeepers must register their apiaries with the authorities in Italy? I've seen Spanish apiaries with registration numbers and know it's a requirement in some other European countries. I've no idea how rigorously this is adhered to if it is required. I think Beebase 'knows' of about 50% of apiaries ...

[fatshark]

BBKA article this month on SHB makes sobering reading ... and we're now up to 17 apiaries.

[Greengage]

Looks like they have thrown the towel in,
http://www.coloss.org/announcements/the-small-hive-beetle-is-in-europe-to-stay

[The Drone Ranger]

I remember Beatle mania the first time around :)

[Jon]

If movement out of that affected area is strictly controlled it will be years before the beetles naturally migrate as far north as the UK.
The danger, as always, is movement by beekeepers from the affected area into areas currently free of SHB, ie the rest of Europe.

[fatshark]

Looks like they have thrown the towel in,
http://www.coloss.org/announcements/the-small-hive-beetle-is-in-europe-to-stay

Looks like they were correct (that announcement was last November) ... another handful of sites have turned up positive today. :mad:

The BBKA article refers to colonies being moved out of the standstill areas, beekeepers not reporting beetles (to avoid the inevitable apiary - not just colony - destruction) and representations being made to the authorities to change the status of the infestation, acknowledging it is now endemic and moving from a destruction phase to a containment phase (I've misplaced my copy of the newsletter so can't remember the precise wording). Depressing stuff, though I'm sure it's devastating to have to all your colonies destroyed.

There's also a more resigned tone from some forum posters on the BKF ... when not if the beetle arrives here.

Perhaps I should consider moving further North ...

[Jon]

Perhaps I should consider moving further North ...

Could always join the beekeeping fraternity on Orkney.
Don't forget your tinfoil hat and anti chemtrail mask!

[gavin]

Just in case anyone is confused by this ..... all Orcadians and adopted Orcadians are very welcome here, other than one who couldn't behave and their non-beekeeping ex-partner. Even that particular adopted Orcadian did a lot locally to raise the issue of keeping Orkney free from Varroa and other nasties which can be spread by bee trade.

[Jon]

Just trying to stop fatshark heading any further north.
We don't want a Captain Oates situation on our hands.

[fatshark]

I'm going outside. I may be quite a while ... lighting my smoker ...

2443
... and finding my skep

[The Drone Ranger]

I'm going outside. I may be quite a while ... lighting my smoker ...

2443
... and finding my skep

Speaking of smokers I tried out loads of different fuels this summer just out of interest.
I tried string from paynes
Carboard
Hessian from Ebay
Fine hemp from Ebay
Cedar shavings from Thornes
Compressed cotton from Thornes
Lighter sticks from Thornes
Old sacking from potato farm
New sacking from potato bags
Coarse hemp from horse bedding
All with varying degrees of success when it came to staying alight without puffing

Value for money and nice smelling smoke the horse bedding (Maxibed) was top although it needs a lighter stick or bit of cotton to get going
The hessian for furniture from sellers on Ebay was next
The cotton from Thornes also is good but dear and burns hot

Not so good` new potato sacks (They might be treated)
Cardboard acrid smoke

[Jimbo]

Smoking fine Hemp eh!


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[The Drone Ranger]

Smoking fine Hemp eh!


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Its those darned Beatles that got me started :)

[SDM]

bales of pine shaving are my fav. for smokers £7 for 20/25kg

[GRIZZLY]

The problem with pine shavings is the amount of tar they produce. I've found the nicest smelling one is larch but it is very resinous - hence very tarry.

[fatshark]

Speaking of smokers I tried out loads of different fuels this summer just out of interest.
Hessian from Ebay

Dundonians should be able to source jute pretty easily ... no need for eBay ;)

[Jon]

Hey Jute, don't make it bad....

[The Drone Ranger]

Hey Jute, don't make it bad....
Ticket to Ride
Norwegian Wood
I am the walrus "experts,experts......."

[The Drone Ranger]

The small hive beetle might have trouble finding a bit of soil to mature in that hasn't been treated for OSR flee beetle round here in the recent past

http://www.nfuonline.com/news/latest-news/nfu-repeats-call-for-flea-beetle-control/

[SDM]

The problem with pine shavings is the amount of tar they produce. I've found the nicest smelling one is larch but it is very resinous - hence very tarry.

True, I burn mine out at the end of almost every full load so I've never really noticed.

[Calluna4u]

Dundonians should be able to source jute pretty easily ... no need for eBay ;)

Getting VERY hard to find now. Luckily a scrap dealer who gets me pallets and IBC tank was tasked with clearing out the old store of a disused jute mill, and they had loads and loads of old scrap jute there, mostly old bale wrappers for the inbound jute. He had about four tonnes of it so I bought the lot. This was more than 5 years ago, and I reckon we have at least 10 years stock left, that's with 6 to 10 smokers going in the field each day in season. Was very expensive though, cost me 36 jars of honey to the jute mill and the scrap guy took 20 quid a tonne....delivered. It was all we could accommodate.

At the time there was probably another 10 to 20 tonnes of it lying there. I alerted a prominent bee supplies company to its presence and suggest they buy it for buttons and give out a bag of free smoker fuel with every order above a certain amount. Don't think it ever happened.

[GRIZZLY]

Garden centres are also a possible source of jute sacking - it is often wrapped round ceramic ornaments and pots. I got a large car boot full from my local dealer free.

[prakel]

Hardly an update. but some great videos from Wyatt Mangum (apologies if any have been previously linked):

Small hive beetle larvae

https://youtu.be/DTFZ3ZwIp5Q

Small Hive Beetles (corralled) challenging Guard Bees

https://youtu.be/iHU7OtNM-wQ

Bees feeding small hive beetles

https://youtu.be/LKih6WaYnHA

There's also a nice shb section on his website:
http://www.tbhsbywam.com/small-hive-beetles/
Which discusses a lot of stuff for a relatively short article, such as:


...a stunning version of adult small hive beetle immigration, moving the pest from a secondary invader to a primary cause of colony destruction, of at least small observation colonies (which could be roughly the size of mating nucs). In the typical scenario, a small hive beetle population builds up in the hive with hundreds of larvae as seen above in the pictures and close-up movie clip of the comb. The colony may even abscond. Here large numbers of beetles immigrated in the observation hives and forced the eviction of the bees with no or very little larval production.

[fatshark]

More SHB in Italy this Spring (http://www.izsvenezie.com/aethina-tumida-in-italy/) ... 5 adults in a sentinel nucleus. Same area in Calabria ... I think this is the earliest in the year that the beetle has been detected - most previous reports have been September onwards.

[Greengage]

Interesting link tks.

[Calluna4u]

I will be meeting a large scale beekeeper from very close to this area socially next week on a trip out to Italy. I will ask about the latest view on this while out there and will feed back.

[Calluna4u]

Just back last night.

Talking to a big queen breeder with links to the south, but no actual activity there...the guy I thought I might meet was not there.

SHB is a problem. They do not think it a serious bee problem and so far there is no sign of spread, and again got the same info that they think their weather is marginal for it. It is however a serious problem for their reputation (his word not mine) and that many clients are under pressure about trading with Italy full stop. About the spring find he had no information to pass on.

However, once back in the UK we met a guy with links to Australia. It was perhaps surprising that SHB was not an issue in Aus, at least the part where it had been found and was widely distributed. This was the view up until very recently. now they seem to have moved away from that somewhat and there appear to be circumstances over there where it becomes a problem. That story will run, but the climate there seems ideal so it was perhaps more surprising that it had not been a problem before.

[Emma]

Hi Calluna4u,
You say that these people think SHB is not a problem. What point of view are they talking from:
- bee farmers?
- hobby beekeepers?
- wild bee colonies?
Some of us would like to see this native species once again able to exist in its own right. From everything I have learned, it seems that the introduction of varroa is the single biggest reason why we have precious few feral colonies left, and perhaps no self-sustaining wild population of bees. Could SHB become another thing which is a controllable nuisance for beekeepers, but which absolutely prevents wild colonies from surviving?
We have cost the wild far too much, in terms of habitat & other impacts, as it is.
Emma

[The Drone Ranger]

The old Maxim of the customer is always right might guide the actions of anyone thinking of importing bees from Italy
It would be damaging to their long term prospects and if anyone was found to have small hive beetle I would guess their business is dead between movement restrictions and lost sales
Course as C4u has pointed out the fly by night operators wont care

[Bumble]

they think their weather is marginal for it.
How does their local weather or climate compare with us here in Britain?

[Calluna4u]

Emma, I honestly don't know. The guy I was talking to might have a gain to make from either a ban or an open doors policy.

They guy I hoped to talk to, but was not there, has gained much from Sicily in particular being off limits as he got a big slice of their package bee market. Calabria itself is of little consequence in the market. Yet he too thinks it all to be a severe over reaction.

The queen rearer thinks it a reputation problem and not actually a practical problem on the ground. Again it was restated that they think the Calabrian climate is on the margins for SHB.

I was only relating what was told to me out there, and leave it at that.

Incidentally, only yesterday a beekeeper with SHB experience in its native South African range was talking about the issue. Even there it seems to be climatically constrained in its distribution, at least in the area where it 'does well'.

[Calluna4u]

Course as C4u has pointed out the fly by night operators wont care

I got some interesting information on that front this week past. I will not be repeating it on open forum, but it will go to the appropriate people this week. Relates to risky and non risky shipments moving on the quiet and at last I have some names (at both ends of the trade) to pass up the line.

Quite sure some of you on here will have been buying them as home bred at high prices.

If some fingers of suspicion are already pointing......................NOTHING I have indicates any misdoing by anyone based in Scotland.

[prakel]

The queen rearer thinks it a reputation problem and not actually a practical problem on the ground.

I find this to be an interesting statement in the sense that it touches on a subject which I've been wondering about but to which (like so much in beekeeping) there seems to be no concensus of oppinion.

The question which I've asked various people is how do mating nucs stand up to SHB? Even in a marginal climate I would imagine that there might be an issue.

This isn't some sort of loaded question as I'm not in the anti-import camp. Genuine interest in the mechanics of how this may work out in practice.

[Calluna4u]

The question which I've asked various people is how do mating nucs stand up to SHB? Even in a marginal climate I would imagine that there might be an issue.


Feedback on that that I had is that in areas of *heavy* SHB infestation, which with few exceptions means the subtropical states of the USA, mating nucs are very prone to serious attack.

[prakel]

Feedback on that that I had is that in areas of *heavy* SHB infestation, which with few exceptions means the subtropical states of the USA, mating nucs are very prone to serious attack.

That's much as I've heard, but of course it's these marginal areas that are of obvious interest to us all. The experience of the Italian guys will be very important over the coming years. Will there be no problem; an ongoing issue or, more worryingly, will varying weather conditions create odd years when small nucs get hit badly.

[Jon]

I remember Michael Palmer posting on BKF that mini nucs were likely to have problems with SHB

[prakel]

I remember Michael Palmer posting on BKF that mini nucs were likely to have problems with SHB

Although he appears to have no issues himself (I might be wrong of course) so I wonder whether that's his climate and location protecting him or if it's his larger-than-mini mating nucs.

[Bumble]

Although he appears to have no issues himself (I might be wrong of course) so I wonder whether that's his climate and location protecting him or if it's his larger-than-mini mating nucs.
I went to one of his talks when he was over here last year and somebody asked him about SHB. I think he said he can tell when somebody gets a package of bees from Texas, or some such place further south, because he sees SHB but they don't overwinter because it's so cold and snowy.

[Jon]

Yes, that's exactly what he said at the talk I attended. He keeps his bees near the Canadian border so it's far too cold for SHB to overwinter.

[prakel]

Yes, he's stated the same on the net, but any inability to overwinter has nothing to do with the ability of the beetles, if imported early enough, to cause damage. The potential can be seen here, in a report from Canada:


First Small Hive Beetle Infestation With Larvae Found In B.C.

British Columbia has had its first case of an infestation of small hive beetle, complete with viable larvae.
The infestation was discovered in one of five nucleus hives in an apiary in south-west Abbotsford. All of the hives were deadouts without bees, Paul van Westendorp, the provincial apiculturist, said in an advisory issued Tuesday. (See below.)
In four of the boxes he found about 10 adult beetles. But in a fifth there was a complete colony with about 20 adult beetles and a frame and a half of larvae in various stages.
van Westendorp made the positive identification on Monday, just two weeks after the provincial government lifted a quarantine order for the Fraser Valley to help expedite the movement of thousands of colonies from Alberta for overwintering.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjO0sLk0ODMAhXBfRoKHWNZCPUQFggiMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.honeybeezen.com%2Ffirst-small-hive-beetle-infestation-with-larvae-found-in-b-c%2F&usg=AFQjCNFB83B56aei6Y5IOR2o9XkW5bC_aA&sig2=nYtsl7PkrWXxpX5UId92-Q

Hony Bee Zen 2015

The latest is a find this April:


Small Hive Beetle Found in B.C

But this find marks a potentially serious escalation in the arrival of small hive beetle in B.C. This is April, earlier than the animal’s normal reproductive period. It would seem to suggest the beetle was an overwintering adult, unless he was picked up from an imported package or from a fruit importer. It is not clear how this one beetle got to Maple Ridge.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjcmuTqwuDMAhVE2xoKHU-gCDcQFggdMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.honeybeezen.com%2Fa-new-small-hive-beetle-find-early-spring-spell-trouble-for-bc-beekeepers%2F&usg=AFQjCNE4BT--ydfjtMXYvKoCPmBVur_h7g&sig2=ccl89p6rF8KujVfS1ml9GA

Hony Bee Zen 2016


On the subject of Canada, there are a few interesting leaflets such as these two:

Best Management and Biosecurity Practices

http://www.ontariobee.com/sites/ontariobee.com/files/SHB%20BMP%20%26%20Biosecurity%20Infosheet%20-%20FINAL%20EN%20copy.pdf

Guidelines for the Movement of Small Hive Beetle (SHB) Positive Honey Bee Colonies in Ontario

http://www.ontariobee.com/sites/ontariobee.com/files/SHB%20Flow%20Chart%20-%20FINAL%20EN.pdf

Edit: fixed link.

[prakel]

Just to round things up a little, my interest here remains in the potential of damage to small mating nucs and at what size they may become viable units able to defend themselves in an area with SHB actively trying to multiply.

[gavin]

Jamie Ellis also mentioned the vulnerability of mating nucs to SHB in one of his talks.

All this casual chat of folk believing that climate is a constraint to SHB spread worries me. We really don't know what limits SHB and how this may operate in new areas. Is it a need for summer heat or is it a need for a lack of winter cold? Or is it something else?

What we know from experimental work is that they *can* complete the pupal phase at temperatures which occur through much of the year in parts of Scotland and all year in parts of S England. We also know that they prefer damp soil rather than dry soil.

These are the reasons for wanting to keep it out. It might be true that it will not thrive anywhere in the UK, but we don't know that is true.

[fatshark]

We also know, as the Calabrians are unfortunately finding out, that it has never been eradicated* from anywhere it has been introduced to.

* other than the single instance of illegally imported (Texas?) queens brought into the UK when they destroyed the colonies in the apiary, ploughed over the site and drenched it in insecticide ...

[Calluna4u]

* other than the single instance of illegally imported (Texas?) queens brought into the UK when they destroyed the colonies in the apiary, ploughed over the site and drenched it in insecticide ...

Really? When did that happen?

The one I knew of was some Weavers Buckfast queens into Portugal. They had been banked and had been visited by SHB which had laid in the cages (one cage I think) and that no adults were found.

[fatshark]

Apologies C4u, you're absolutely right about the geography ... it was Portugal. However, whether or not they found adults, I think the description of the destruction visited on the apiary was correct. The absence of adults would mean that this wasn't really an "introduction" so the statement about once here, never removed, no longer needs qualifying.

[Jon]

There was a consignment of queens from the US destroyed by the authorities in NI a few years ago as well. These were from Georgia, ie a SHB area. The beekeeper was let off with a slap on the wrist.

http://www.irishbeekeeping.ie/index.php/imports-of-bees-into-northern-ireland

[Calluna4u]

The destination apiary was destroyed, yes. The ground around it was treated with insecticide, yes. Ploughed over? That bit is new to me. Also not clear is whether the queens ever reached the hives in question. The terms used in the description of the event was 'intercepted' in a consignment of illegally imported queens from Texas. That tends to imply they never reached the hives and that the destruction was a precaution in case this import route had been used before.

At the time you could easily buy queens from a French vendor under the name 'Navatex'. They werte a primary importer from Weavers in Texas, and if you look up where they come from you will see how the name was derived. They sold them in their thousands to all parts of Europe, at a time when the USA was already a banned source, including to the UK. The same company also offered pure Caucasians from Georgia, and a range of specialist queens from the USA.

More recently queens from Chile have been offered.

[fatshark]

Ploughed over? That bit is new to me.

I'll try and find the original review article ... it's around here somewhere.

[fatshark]

I don't think this was the original article, but it gives a good indication of what was done ...

http://www.dzoo.uevora.pt/var/dzoo/storage/original/application/fc1af4d0eb055ee11c01b18d9d95972f.pdf ... apologies for the link, go directly to page 7, do not pass Go, do not collect £200

Murilhas, AM EurBee Newsletter No.2, April 2005

Key points ...


it looks like the imports were legal as approval was obtained in advance from the National Veterinary Service (of Portugal)
queens were transferred from original transport cages to introduction cages
queens were introduced to nucs
transport cages were inspected and found to contain 2 larvae
all nucs/colonies in the two receiving apiaries were destroyed
soil for 4 metres around the hives was removed and "deep buried"
apiary ground was covered with plastic sheeting
the apiary soil was soaked with permethrin
the beekeeper was compensated for actual and predicted future losses



Page 9 has got pics of the entire process ... the soil removal was done with a tractor, but with the front loader, so not 'ploughing' as such. Dates etc. are in the article, but the queens arrived on 17/9/04 and the permethrin soak was applied on 21/10/04.

[Greengage]

Nice find Fatshark interesting article.

[Bumble]

All this casual chat of folk believing that climate is a constraint to SHB spread worries me. We really don't know what limits SHB and how this may operate in new areas. Is it a need for summer heat or is it a need for a lack of winter cold? Or is it something else?

What we know from experimental work is that they *can* complete the pupal phase at temperatures which occur through much of the year in parts of Scotland and all year in parts of S England. We also know that they prefer damp soil rather than dry soil.

These are the reasons for wanting to keep it out. It might be true that it will not thrive anywhere in the UK, but we don't know that is true.
Living in the currently fairly frigid 'not Scotland' with a wet clay soil, my concern is that it's the perfect environment for SHB to thrive if it should arrive.

[mazza]

This notification on the OIE website has just been drawn to my attention

Surveillance of Aethina tumida in Italy in 2016

Four new small hive beetle outbreaks have been detected in Calabria on 25th, 27th and 28th July 2016. They are roughly 100 km from the first protection zone established in Gioia Tauro in September 2014.

The first outbreak in Cosenza was discovered in the framework of the surveillance for Aethina tumida carried out in the Calabria region in an apiary composed of 12 nuclei. Only Aethina tumida adults were observed. The epidemiological investigation carried out after the confirmation led to identify three other apiaries owned by the same beekeeper. Three of them were infested with adults and two of them also with larvae. All the outbreaks are within a 3 km radius. Ban of movements is enforced in a 10 km radius zone from the primary outbreak. The outbreaks are roughly 100 km from the first protection zone established in Gioia Tauro in Reggio Calabria province in September 2014 where all the outbreaks have been discovered so far. Clinical controls are being carried out in other apiaries in a 1 km radius zone from the primary outbreak with negative results so far. Epidemiological investigation is under way to ascertain the path of introduction in the primary outbreak.”

This information has been disseminated by the World Animal Health information system (WAHIS): http://www.oie.int/wa…/public/wahid.php/Reviewreport/Review…

In all, six colonies out of the 128 present were found infested. All colonies of the apiaries were destroyed.

On the new maps available from the Italian NRL on 15thJuly 2016, 35 apiaries have been inspected in Calabria and 376 in Sicilia (green dots). Nuclei (purple dots) were settled particularly in locations where apiaries had been previously found positive and destroyed. They aim at detecting the remaining presence of coleopterans in the environment.

Two Aethina tumida adult specimens have been detected in in one sentinel apiary on 05th July 2016 located in the protection zone in the municipality of Candidoni in Calabria (purple cross). Adult and larva specimens have been previously detected in the apiary on 17th June 2016.

To date, no SHB have been detected in Sicily in 2016.

!Nothing about this on the official Italian website (IZS Venezie) or Beebase as yet, but I presume there will be shortly....

[gavin]

Thanks, M. Great to have the latest news even if it is bad news, especially for the beekeepers in this new area.

[mazza]

That's it on the Italian website now... :(

http://www.izsvenezie.it/documenti/temi/api/aethina-thumida/2016/situazione-epidemiologica/figura-5-zona-sorveglianza-sicilia-calabria.pdf

http://www.izsvenezie.it/aethina-tumida-in-italia/

[gavin]

News reached my inbox (thanks Fi) of this crucial paper:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13592-016-0465-3

Apidologia

Introduction of Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in the regions of Calabria and Sicily (southern Italy)

Anna GRANATO and colleagues including Franco MUTINELLI

Abstract – Aethina tumida (small hive beetle, SHB) was first detected in September 2014 in Calabria region, southern Italy, and in a single apiary in Sicily in November 2014. In September 2015, SHB was again recorded in Calabria, and in 2016, only sentinel honey bee nucleus colonies were found to be infested. Its phylogenetic relationship and possible origin were investigated comparing the cox1 sequences with the corresponding region available in the GenBank database. The neighbour-joining method revealed that the first Italian specimen belonged to a group also containing an African specimen from Cameroon. The Italian specimens differ from the SHBs spread worldwide and are split into two different groups: group B1 includes the AfricCam3 sequence and the first SHB identified in Calabria; group B2 includes specimens from Calabria and the only one from Sicily which share identical cox1 sequences. SHB in Italy appears to have been introduced from Africa and includes independent or contemporary incursions in the two concerned regions. The most likely scenario is that SHB was introduced into Calabria followed by man-mediated migration to Sicily.

That seems crystal clear then, the SHB plaguing Calabria came directly from Africa and was not of the type that has been spreading worldwide.

[Greengage]

well done its good to read propor data instead of the scare mongering.

[fatshark]

A further 30 or so apiaries have been reported (http://www.izsvenezie.com/documents/reference-laboratories/beekeeping/aethina-tumida/2016/table-1-confirmed-cases.pdf) with SHB since mid-September. This is more than were reported in total in 2015 (when detection occurred between mid-September and early December) so we can perhaps expect more before the end of the year. All again in the Calabria region.

[prakel]

A further 30 or so apiaries have been reported (http://www.izsvenezie.com/documents/reference-laboratories/beekeeping/aethina-tumida/2016/table-1-confirmed-cases.pdf) with SHB since mid-September. This is more than were reported in total in 2015 (when detection occurred between mid-September and early December) so we can perhaps expect more before the end of the year. All again in the Calabria region.

Do you know if there's a pattern which suggests a clear natural expansion outwards from the earlier cases?

[gavin]

Do you know if there's a pattern which suggests a clear natural expansion outwards from the earlier cases?

There is one case this year (so far) away from the previous area (but within beetle flying distance) and more cases in a previously sparse area to the east. Other than that the affected area is pretty much the same. There was talk of the beetle being well established before the big excitement in Sep 2014 so it seems it did a lot of its spreading by then. It seems likely that the eradication attempt isn't eradicating it but it could be slowing the spread.

The maps are here: http://www.izsvenezie.com/aethina-tumida-in-italy/