Subject: bee moth questions

From: [email-masked]
Date: 15 Jun 95 15:10:08 +600

[Note: posted to rec.pets.herp,  sci.bio.entomology.lepidoptera and 
sci.agriculture.beekeeping]

I was just in the pet store the other day to pick up a dozen waxworms for
my day geckos  (larval form of the bee moth _Galleria melonella_)  The store
didn't have very many left and I got pretty much the last of them.  The
store owner then said that he probably wouldn't be getting any more in
for a long time if ever due to some virus that was killing off all of 
the bee moths.  He said that this virus was bad enough that wax worms as
a staple item in pet stores and bait shops was probably pretty much at an 
end.  I got to thinking about this and just out of curiosity I have a
couple of questions (I hope they don't sound too naive)

Is it really a virus or is it something else that's wiping out the
waxworms?  Does this spell doom for the entire species?

I understand that the bee moth is a pest species for beekeepers. Are 
beekeepers jumping for joy over this virus?  Or, are there some bee
keepers who actually sell the waxworms to baitshops and such as a kind
of sideline to their honey business and thus are going to be losing money?

Where did this virus or whatever it is come from? Has it been around for a
long time or is it something fairly new?  Does it effect other species of
moth or butterfly?

Just Curious

Mark  [email-masked]

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From: "K.J.M.Hooker" <[email-masked]>
Date: 19 Jun 1995 21:47:53 +0100

For wax moth virus, I think you might be talking about Bacillus 
theringensis (that might not be spelt right) which is used in some 
areas for control of caterpillar.

Keith JM Hooker BA MIPD
Technology Management Ltd
Whitstable, Kent, UK, EC (just)

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From: [email-masked] ()
Date: Sun, 18 Jun 1995 19:07:25 GMT

>waxworms?  Does this spell doom for the entire species?

I wish that it was true.  I have been inundated this year with wax
moths.  I have never heard of a wax moth virus.  Where can I get some?

>Mark  [email-masked]

Why don't you contact a local bee keeoper and see if you can aquire
some old black comb from him?  All you need to do to get your own wax
moth farm going is to place a few of your larve with the old comb in a
screened enclosure.  They will pupate and reproduce in adult form and
you will have an endless supply in just a few weeks.

Carl Mueller  [email-masked]
West Palm Beach, Florida

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From: [email-masked] ()
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 1995 04:11:16 GMT

>Whitstable, Kent, UK, EC (just)

No, Bacillus theringensis is as it's name states it is a bacteria,
which infects only insects of the order Lepoderptra.  It is also
a viable (live) bacteria with a limited life span.  It must be
cultured and applied, usually in a water base, by spraying
onto the combs.

I think that in this case the pet shop owner probably lost his
source and needed an explaination.

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 20 Jun 95 23:26:08 +600

> Carl Mueller  [email-masked]

No, I don't think that's it.  I went back to the pet shop owner and asked
him a few more questions.  It seems that he has quite a few different
sources for wax worms and all of them are telling him the same thing.
(I didn't ask who his sources were, I guess I should have but I didn't
want to seem too nosy)