4 CIECULAK 3 8 6, U. S. DEPABTMENT OF AGEICTJLTUEE 



must have been aided in its distribution by man and by poor bee- 

 keeping methods. (2) The insect finds its most favorable conditions 

 in the Temperate Zone. According to Paddock, the wax moth is 

 present in Ontario, Canada, but has been unable to establish itself 

 in Manitoba and British Columbia. The high altitudes of the Rocky 

 Mountains are also free, but the wax moth can be found almost any- 

 where else in the United States where there are bees. 



In the Southern States the wax moth does damage practically 

 throughout the year, with the possible exception of December, Jan- 

 uary, and February; and during mild winters wax moths may ap- 

 pear even in January. It is probable that colonies are infested, at 

 least with eggs, throughout the whole season of bee activity and that 

 only in active colonies is wholesalei damage prevented. In supers 

 and hive bodies brought from the apiary and stored, larvae of all 

 stages will be found, ordinarily within a week, unless the combs are 

 treated. Under storage conditions, the lengths of the egg, larval, and 

 pupal stages vary considerably, and the number of broods per year 

 is largely determined by temperature and humidity. Distribution, 

 under such conditions, is rapid because of the movement of combs 

 and bee equipment, even without the active flight and dispersion of 

 the adult moths. 



LIFE HISTORY 



THE EGG 



The egg of the wax moth is small, white, somewhat elliptical, and 

 rather inconspicuous (fig. 2). It measures about one fifty-fourth of 

 an inch in greatest length and about one-sixtieth of an inch in great- 

 est width. The size and shape vary somewhat, depending on the 

 number of eggs laid in one spot and the character of the site in which 

 they are laid. 



At 75° to 80° F. the eggs hatch in from 5 to 8 days, but with low 

 temperatures (50° to 60°) the period may extend to 35 days. Under 

 apiary conditions the incubation period is probably almost entirely 

 dependent on temperature. 



The eggs of the wax moth are probably laid most frequently in 

 the cracks between hive parts; that is, between supers, between hive 

 body and bottom board, or between the super and cover. Egg masses 

 have been found in cracks between the inner cover and top super of 

 the hive, where they had beeji deposited by the female, apparently 

 from the outside of the hive. Eggs are also laid inside the hive in 

 more or less unprotected places. Under controlled conditions, when 

 females were allowed access to combs, the eggs were found on the 

 comb (fig. 2) along the edges of the frames and almost always in 

 the portions of the hive farthest from the light. Egg masses in the 

 hive are difficult to see and may often be overlooked. 



THE LARVA 



The young larvae, upon hatching, are very active and do not look 

 like the familiar wax worms. Beekeepers have called them wood lice 

 and have not connected the appearance of these forms with the dam- 

 age from the worms, which they noticed later. They are often seen 

 upon the inner covers of hives and in the cracks between supers and 



