Beetle detrimental to bees found in Alaska for first time

State officials have made the first known detection in Alaska of the small hive beetle, an “economically significant” pest of honey bees, according to an alert published in late September.

An Alaska pest expert hopes a coordinated effort with beekeepers will get the situation under control, but a master beekeeper in the Fairbanks area says she isn’t confident that’ll be enough.

Staff with the Alaska Division of Agriculture discovered the pest in August during an inspection at an apiary in the Copper River Census Area, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The release says the detection was later confirmed during the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Honey Bee Disease Survey.

Lorraine Henry, director of communications for DNR, al