ABSTRACT
Small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) can kill honey bee colonies and impact colony health and productivity significantly. They typically inhabit colonies of African races or subspecies of Western honey bees (Apis mellifera), probably identifying the host colony by a suite of olfactory cues. Small hive beetles depend on bee colonies as their primary host. Molecular techniques have helped us understand the introduction, presence, and spread of the beetles in North America.The majority of losses occur in the southern United States, particularly the Southeast. The beetles appear to be a more regional than global pest. The largest threat to the bee colony posed by this beetle are the beetle larvae that feed on honey, pollen, and bee brood.The focus of this chapter is on how small hive beetles impact honey bee colonies and contribute to colony losses in the United States. I emphasize the biology, research-able topics that remain poorly understood, particularly in the area of control (chemical, cultural, biological, genetic), and the need for further work. Control of small hive beetles seems to be best accomplished by attacking all beetle life stages simultaneously and maintaining bee colonies in a populous and healthy state.
