More recent entomology questions and answers

Entomology answers

Bees in chimney

I have a honey bee hive in my chimney. I need to have them removed, but with the threat to bee populations I don't want to exterminate them. Do you have anyone who handles this type of issue or someone who would be interested in moving the hive?

The only time beekeepers are able to collect a colony of bees is when the colony swarms. The swarm consists of the queen and a few thousand workers who are sitting exposed after leaving their former hive and before they have located a new place to move into. Once established within the walls of a home, the colony must be killed in order to remove them.

Contact a local pest control company to do the work. They typically follow the following guidelines:

Find the nest and apply the treatment when most of the bees are in the nest and not flying (either at night, in the evening, early morning, or on a cool cloudy day).
Locate the nest inside the wall (it is not always near the entrance)
- Tap on the outside of the wall in several areas and listening for buzzing
Apply the treatment into the entrance hole, or, a hole drilled into the wall close to the nest.
Seal the treatment hole and wait 24 hrs
Tap the wall again to determine whether there is still activity and, if so, treat again.
After all activity ceases, the wall must be opened and all dead bees, wax, honey, and brood removed to avoid contamination from decomposition, melting, etc and from secondary pests that would come to feed on the dead bees, honey, etc.
Seal the entrance holes and any holes drilled to apply the treatment.

Richard Houseman
Assistant Professor of Entomology
State Urban Entomology Extension Specialist

Bees against the windshield

While driving from St. Louis to Springfield, I encountered an alarming number of bees splatting against my truck's windshield. It happened again closer to Springfield. I have traveled by car all my life and never experienced this phenomena. Can you please explain this?

I have had this same thing happen to me. If there is a bee swarm flying in the roadway, you will hit several of them. Bee swarms are not a frequent event, so you are lucky to have had this occur twice in the same trip. Even though this is something unusual, it is not related to the colony collapse disorder that has been observed.

Richard Houseman
Assistant Professor of Entomology
State Urban Entomology Extension Specialist

Termite treatment

When is the best time of year to effectively treat for termites? Do they hibernate? Will treatment done in winter be as effective as in the spring?

I assume when you say treat for termites, you mean a liquid soil treatment? You are right that termite activity, like most insects, varies with the changing temperatures in their immediate environment. However, if you have discovered a termite infestation during this cooler time of year, I would still recommend that you have a soil treatment done now for a couple of reasons:

First, soil treatments are active in the soil for several years following the actual treatment. The termiticide binds to the soil particles and termites that come into contact with treated soil die from this exposure as long as there is still enough termiticide there to constitute a lethal dose. There is normally enough termiticide bound to the soil to deliver a lethal dose for 6-10 years following the actual treatment. A treatment in November would still be effective next year when it warms up, and for several years after that.
Second, termites within the wall of your home continue to be active during the cold months of the year if the home is heated. The interior of the wall will be warmer than the outside environment and termite activity responds to the temperature of their immediate environment, not the outdoor temperature.

If you are talking about outdoor bait treatments for termites, lower termite activity outdoors during cooler months will make termites less likely to find bait stations. The likelihood of termites finding bait stations would increase in the spring.

Richard Houseman
Assistant Professor of Entomology
State Urban Entomology Extension Specialist

All leaves eaten off of trees

Insects have eaten all the leaves off of three of my trees. I pulled a large green worm from one tree. It has the appearance of a large tomatoe worm. Can you recommend a spray to use?

It is difficult to identify the insect larvae consuming your tree without more information. If the larvae look like a tomato hornworm, it may be a related species. There are several hornworm species that feed on trees, and knowledge of the tree species is helpful in identification. I would suggest getting some clear, close up photos of the insect as well as the leaves of the tree being consumed, or a physical sample including both the larvae and tree leaves and submitting to the Plant Diagnostic Clinic.

Simeon Wright
Plant Diagnostic Clinic Coordinator

Scorpions

I have scorpions. What commercial product can I use to get rid of them?

For information on scorpions in Missouri read the MU Extension publication, G7364, Scorpions.

Simeon Wright
Plant Diagnostic Clinic Coordinator