UPDATE It's November 26th 2011 as of today, I have only ONE active bee colony. The yellow jackets/wasps this year were the worst ever! One yellow jacket attack on one hive went on all day every day for five days before the bees were defeated. Once they sufficiently weakened the colony, it was a free for all on the honey stores... It's a puzzle that needs a solution asap.
@david052856 Thanks for the offer.. I no longer use queen excluders at all.. found that they slowed honey production. My remaining hives/colonies are very strong and we will see how they do in spring. I posted the video to demonstrate the behavior, not so much a request for help, but I thank you anyway... take care!
As of today... I have two of five hives still going. Insecticide treated corn may also have contributed to the losses... one of the two remaining colonies is now fighting off hornets and losing a lot of workers/defenders in the process, so I may soon be down to just one surviving colony as we go into winter. The hornets seem capable of flight at lower temps than the honey bees... another advantage...
Thanks for this video. Our backyard apiary has been repeatedly assaulted by robber bees, first from a swarm we caught, then from a split from that swarm. After re-queening with black bees (carneolans) we still have yellow italians robbing from somewhere nearby. This seems to be a genetic trait, and one I'd rather not have in the neighborhood! Watch here: youtube-dot-com/watch?v=ndnMStVr8ew
So I guess next spring I will erect my first bee box. I have had a bountiful number of bees in the garden. I hadn't thought why not help them with a good home. Gonna buy some bees for sure.
I lost my backyard hive this summer, and I tried my best to keep their sugar water stocked. My first hive, lost, but I learned a lot. I saw the same robbing activity going on with the yellow jackets and also the red wasps.
Wow ! What an informative vid. I had no idea. My daughter was swarmed by hornets a few weeks ago when she went to put some kitchen waste into the compost bin. Brutal ! Thanks for sharing this with us. All the best
@mukwah1111 Thank you for commenting, I'm glad you got something out of it.... this time of year all the hornets have hatched and are feverishly searching for sugars... honey is at the top of their list. I hope your daughter came through that experience ok and that she is not now afraid of insects... (">
@HTCSWEOD She is very afraid now of hornets & the compost bin. What purpose do hornets serve anyway? I know that honey bees make honey but ...hornets? I am so glad that the bees were able to fend off the hornets from their hive. Animals and insects sure have much better instincts & constitutions than us humans do tho huh? All the best
Yellow hornet o.O
Iffrappucino 1 month ago
UPDATE It's November 26th 2011 as of today, I have only ONE active bee colony. The yellow jackets/wasps this year were the worst ever! One yellow jacket attack on one hive went on all day every day for five days before the bees were defeated. Once they sufficiently weakened the colony, it was a free for all on the honey stores... It's a puzzle that needs a solution asap.
HTCSWEOD 3 months ago
@HTCSWEOD You need to combine weak colonies using the newspaper method. Also if you usea queen excluder you can keep the two queens in the colony.
Please email me Spluto10@yahoo.com and I can help you more.
david052856 2 months ago
@david052856 Thanks for the offer.. I no longer use queen excluders at all.. found that they slowed honey production. My remaining hives/colonies are very strong and we will see how they do in spring. I posted the video to demonstrate the behavior, not so much a request for help, but I thank you anyway... take care!
HTCSWEOD 2 months ago
As of today... I have two of five hives still going. Insecticide treated corn may also have contributed to the losses... one of the two remaining colonies is now fighting off hornets and losing a lot of workers/defenders in the process, so I may soon be down to just one surviving colony as we go into winter. The hornets seem capable of flight at lower temps than the honey bees... another advantage...
HTCSWEOD 4 months ago
Thanks for this video. Our backyard apiary has been repeatedly assaulted by robber bees, first from a swarm we caught, then from a split from that swarm. After re-queening with black bees (carneolans) we still have yellow italians robbing from somewhere nearby. This seems to be a genetic trait, and one I'd rather not have in the neighborhood! Watch here: youtube-dot-com/watch?v=ndnMStVr8ew
roseagull 7 months ago
So I guess next spring I will erect my first bee box. I have had a bountiful number of bees in the garden. I hadn't thought why not help them with a good home. Gonna buy some bees for sure.
eggplanthead44 7 months ago
@eggplanthead44 That's fantastic news! I recommend Dadant or Better Bee as sources for equipment....
HTCSWEOD 7 months ago
I lost my backyard hive this summer, and I tried my best to keep their sugar water stocked. My first hive, lost, but I learned a lot. I saw the same robbing activity going on with the yellow jackets and also the red wasps.
BigMeanGreenUSMC 7 months ago
@BigMeanGreenUSMC Sorry you lost your bees... I hope you don't give up on the hobby...
HTCSWEOD 7 months ago
Wow ! What an informative vid. I had no idea. My daughter was swarmed by hornets a few weeks ago when she went to put some kitchen waste into the compost bin. Brutal ! Thanks for sharing this with us. All the best
mukwah1111 7 months ago
@mukwah1111 Thank you for commenting, I'm glad you got something out of it.... this time of year all the hornets have hatched and are feverishly searching for sugars... honey is at the top of their list. I hope your daughter came through that experience ok and that she is not now afraid of insects... (">
HTCSWEOD 7 months ago
@HTCSWEOD She is very afraid now of hornets & the compost bin. What purpose do hornets serve anyway? I know that honey bees make honey but ...hornets? I am so glad that the bees were able to fend off the hornets from their hive. Animals and insects sure have much better instincts & constitutions than us humans do tho huh? All the best
mukwah1111 7 months ago