Small hive beetle poses threat to bee industry

MANILA, Philippines - “Small hive beetle (SHB) is a major threat to the beekeeping industry as it affects the conservation of indigenous bees and consequently extends to the agriculture and environment sectors by disrupting pollination services,” revealed Dr. Cleofas Cervancia, professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and president of the APIMONDIA Regional Commission for Asia, an international federation of beekeepers’ associations.

The concern on SHB, particularly its potential threat to the Philippine bee industry, was one of the issues raised during the conduct of the “Project Review and Planning Workshop on Apiculture in Support to Organic Agriculture” held in Clark, Pampanga. The event was spearheaded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), being apiculture as one of its priority programs.

Cervancia warned that the decrease in the bee population would affect food production,  considering that pollination helps in the reproduction of nearly 85 percent of the world’s flowering plants and 35 percent of the global crop production.

“SHB eats everything in the colony including pollen, brood, honey, dead adult bees, and combs. This causes honey to ferment in the process, thereby rendering the honey foul and considered unfit for human consumption,” Cervancia explained.

Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida Murray) can easily be detected as it is visible to the naked eye. Adult beetles measure about 5 mm long and 3 mm wide and are dark brown in color. They can be seen on the bottom board, frames and top covers of the honey comb. Larval infestations are commonly associated with foul odor which is caused by the death of bee brood.

SHB is reported to be native to sub-Saharan Africa. Reported cases of SHB incursion were in some parts of the United States, Australia, Portugal, and Italy. “Now, it is in the Philippines,” reported Dr. Cervancia.

An SHB case documented in the country happened in Lupon, Davao Oriental in June 2014 through Epifanio C. Loyola Jr. of Beenet Philippines. Samples of the beetles found in the area were sent to UPLB and was confirmed to be Aethina tumida.

“The infestation was severe, and majority of the bee colonies collapsed. Through UPLB and DA-BAR initiatives, the UPLB Bee program team, together with Loyola and other beekeepers inspected the apiaries in Lupon, Davao Oriental, Bukidnon, and General Santos in November 2014. Except for apiaries in Bukidnon, all the colonies were severely infested by the SHB. The team managed the colonies by collecting all SHB, cleaning the hives, and installing SHB traps with baits,” Dr. Cervancia elaborated.

“The SHB presents a threat to the bee industry. We should streamline government policies on quarantine and biosecurity measures, such as prohibiting the inter-island movement of bees,” Cervancia furthered.

As of now, the UPLB Bee Program has started studying the distribution patterns of SHB in Visayas and Mindanao, and plans on embarking a project in collaboration with DA-BAR and High Value Crops Development Program on integrated control measures for the insect pest.