Friday, November 2, 2012

Phorid fly

http://cdn.honeytraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/phorid-fly-on-honey-bee.jpg?4c9b33
As many of you have read, there is "new" pest bothering the honey bee- the Phorid fly.  I thought I should check to see if my bees were infested.  I found a site, ZomBee Watch, which has a map of reported infested hives.  Since there was one reported in Soquel, I figured my girls must also have been parasitized.
I didn't read the tutorial on the ZomBee site before I did my set-up, but just did it a simple way.  I hung my work light, with a florescent bulb, in front of the hives on a length of pipe.  When it was dark, I turned on the light.  One hour later, I went out and found 3 bees climbing around the light.  I put them, as well as a dead be from the walk below, into the jar I use for the sugar shake test.


Today, 7 days later, here's what I saw when I looked into the jar:
Those 3 brownish ovals at the top edge of the bottom are pupae.
There was a fourth, lighter pupa on the side of the jar.
I had been looking into the jar daily and had not seen the larva.
I examined the bees carefully and was unable to find the hole through which the pupae had exited.


The pupae out of the jar
 I transferred the pupae into a plastic vial and will wait until they hatch.
I submitted a report to ZomBee but it won't be complete until I report on the flies hatching.

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