... cycle of the small hive beetle Aethina tumida 46 viii Executive Summary What the report is about The small hive beetle (SHB) (Aethina tumida), is a native scavenger of bee hives... characteristics of isolates were determined by measuring radial growth on SDA plates over 14 days at a range of temperatures from 25°C to 35°C Small hive beetle colony General Rearing The small hive beetles... collapse of the hive with a subsequent meltdown of the hive products as they are turned to a mass of strongly odorous slime in which thousands of SHB larvae develop De-contaminating hives is