First record of Aethina Tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), an important hive beetle in colonies of Apis mellifera in West Bengal, India

Small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida is an important invasive parasite of bees. The sub Saharian Africa is considered as its native place. During last few years, it has naturally introduced and settled in some other areas beyond its origin. Apropos said beetle, no report is made from India. Survey activity was initiated to detect a serious unknown pest problem (as per information of beekeepers) in Apis mellifera colonies in Gobardanga and Hansnabad of district North 24 Parganas of West Bengal in India. Samples were collected for its morphological identification. It is identified as SHB (Aethina tumida) and accordingly other information is generated. The present work is first discovery of SHB in Apis mellifera colonies of West Bengal, a state of India.