Scott Nacko: Cucurbit pollination & small hive beetle infestation in the stingless bee, Tetragonula carbonaria
We will discuss the first detailed case of small hive beetle infestation in a living Australian stingless bee hive that was transported and deployed for use in Cucurbit crop pollination. Out of nine studied hives, one hive became infested. All life stages of the small hive beetle, with the exception of eggs, were discovered inside the hive, which contained a total of 14 adult beetles and 133 beetle larvae. Events leading up to infestation, and future work to be done with cucurbit crops and stingless bees will be addressed.