Seasonal Incidence of Galleria mellonella in Stored Wax Combs and its Correlation with Weather Parameters

The investigation was carried out at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar for two years i.e. 2016 and 2017 during June to October. During June, population of larvae of Galleria mellonella larvae started increasing till September in both years.. However, during October, the number decreased. This pattern of seasonal incidence was same when eight, nine and ten combs were stored in a hive body (chamber). The number of larvae recorded per comb was highest when ten combs were stored in a hive body followed by 9, 8 and 7 combs. During both the years, pupal and adult population in stored combs also increased with from June to September while in October, the cumulative number of pupae and adults decreased. Correlation studies between number of wax moth population (larvae, pupae and adults) in stored combs related to different frame strength with the different weather parameters showed significant positive correlation with maximum RH and maximum temperature, whereas no significant correlation existed with min. temperature, min. RH and number of bright sunshine hours.