Abstract:
Honey bees are very valuable
to human. These social insects contribute in
the pollination of many crops. Also, the
products from honey bee colonies have
many nutritional and medicinal benefits.
Thus, keeping honey bees are very valuable
and can be considered as source of income
to many families. There are many diseases
and pests that attack honey bee colonies.
The pests attack bee colonies include:
hornets, wax moths, bee-eater birds, and
beetles. Such challenges can impact the
survival and productivity of honey bee
colonies. In this study, some beetle species
belong to Fam. Nitidulidae, Dermestidae
and Mycetophagidae were detected in honey
bee colonies in Egypt, during spring.
Despite the presence of many beetle species
in the agricultural environment, only few
species preferred the invasion of the
colonies for feeding. These beetles do not
attack stages of honey bees. They only feed
on stored pollen or bee bread, especially
those fallen on the bottom of the beehives.
This is an alarm to follow the feeding
behavior and distribution of these beetles.
These beetles’ species can be considered as
potential pests to weak honey bee colonies,
housed in old or damaged beehives. The
presence of large numbers of these beetles
in weak colonies may disturb the activities
of the bees and may passively impact the
survival of the colonies. Listing these
beetles is very important to better
understanding the interaction between
honey bees and beetles. On the other side,
small hive beetles were not detected in the
colonies. These beetles are currently one of
the major problems facing honey bees in
different parts of the world. This study
confirms the absence of small hive beetles
from Egypt.
