THE WAX MOTH AND ITS CONTROL 6 



In any study of the economic importance of an insect, not only 

 the loss but the benefit from the insect must be weighed. The wax 

 moth is not an unmitigated evil. In the first place, the destruction 

 of combs by the wax moth has not only tended to prevent the keep- 

 ing of bees in box hives but has also tended to improve general bee- 

 keeping practices. The wax moth has also been an ally of the bee- 

 keeper by helping to destroy combs in bee trees or other inaccessible 

 places, which might harbor germs of some of the brood diseases. 



Since bees in box hives cannot be examined, requeened, or other- 

 wise controlled, the colonies are likely to become weak, and under 

 such conditions an invasion of the wax moth destroys the colony 

 and the combs. Many States have laws to prevent the keeping of 

 bees in box hives, and the wax moth has furthered the aim of this 

 legislation by destroying such colonies in its spread. So thorough 

 is the destruction of colony and combs in most box hives that, unless 

 there are large stores of honey in the hives, bees are no longer 

 attracted to them. 



Particularly in the Southern States, where the honey flow is slow 

 and extends over a long period, it has become a practice to give more 

 super room at the beginning of the flow than the bees actually need. 

 This is not the best practice if a large crop of honey is desired, and 

 the destruction of such unprotected combs by the wax moth has been 

 of direct benefit to beekeepers in forcing a change of method. 



The destruction by wax moth larvae of combs in bee trees is prob- 

 ably a great aid in preventing the spread of bee disease through the 

 robbing of honey by other bees and, in those areas where queen 

 breeders and package shippers are located, the destruction of stray 

 colonies has also been of real value. Since the germs of American 

 foulbrood have been found in the excrement of wax moth larvae 

 there is a theoretical possibility that the disease might be spread 

 by this means, but actually there is no evidence to warrant pinning 

 additional guilt on this pest. 



The benefits of the wax moth are small, however, when compared 

 with the losses of entire colonies and of stored combs, or the extra 

 care and manipulation necessary to combat the insect. 



HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION 



The earliest works on beekeeping contain references to the wax 

 moth. Aristotle (384-322 B. C), Virgil (70-19 B. 0.), and Colu- 

 mella (middle of the first century, A. D.), all mention the wax moth 

 as an enemy of the honeybee. 



The range of foods that can be eaten by the larvae of the wax 

 moth would suggest that it might at one time have had other foods 

 than those obtainable in the hive, but at present wax comb in some 

 form is practically its only food. 



F. B. Paddock, who has made a study of the present-day distribu- 

 tion of the wax moth, was unable to determine the date of its intro- 

 duction into the United States. From his distribution records some 

 interesting inferences may be drawn: (1) The wax moth has been 

 spread by man more than by the natural activity of the moth. The 

 introduction of the moth into Sweden with beehives from Germany 

 prior to 1750 and its introduction into Australia, New Zealand, and 

 other island regions all point to the conclusion that the wax moth 



