Ants taking eggs

[VEG]

Went through my hives on weekend and noticed ants on the crown board with eggs, they were pinching eggs from the hive. This hive is packed with bees and is healthy. Cant understand why they were pinching eggs and not honey. Never seen this before. Think I will have to put some nippon in traps near the hive stand legs.

 

[xgeordie]

I've had ant problems on the crown board aswell - been squishing them every day. Are you sure the eggs you saw were not ant eggs?

 

[mandabow]

Went through my hives on weekend and noticed ants on the crown board with eggs, they were pinching eggs from the hive. This hive is packed with bees and is healthy. Cant understand why they were pinching eggs and not honey. Never seen this before. Think I will have to put some nippon in traps near the hive stand legs.

ants are a bit like wasps at the moment.. they need protein to feed their larva, and not so much sugary things which feed the adults because adult levels are very low.

or it may be the bees are protecting the honey and viable eggs better, could these eggs have been disgaurded from the cells by workers and being cleared away by the ants in a kind of sybiosis? i can't imagine no bees not noticing ants steeling eggs

(........ orrr could they bee the secret grafters?)

 

[VEG]

They were deffo bee eggs and not ant eggs ant eggs are a lot bigger. Bees didn't seem to be too bothered by them though.

 

[xgeordie]

I'm trying vaseline on the legs of the hive.

 

[Dishmop]

Omelets.

 

[TBRNoTB]

Omelets.

Is that Spanish or plain?

 

[Midland Beek]

Perhaps they were just taking the eggs laid in queen cell cups and trying to assist in the swarm control department?

 

[Dishmop]

Is that Spanish or plain?

Depends if the hive is on an allotment..

 

[darren64]

I saw some black ants on the top of my crown board today,they were not carrying eggs though,I will be keeping an eye on them now though.

 

[Chris Luck]

I have ants, (various species), nesting on top of the crown boards in quite a number of my hives but they never seem to cause a problem and they can't get in the top anyway as they are sealed with propolis. Only ever see the odd one on the landing boards.

Chris

 

[Dishmop]

Baking soda.

 

[VEG]

what about it

 

[Dishmop]

what about it

Gets rid of ants..

and fleas...

 

[tkwinston4]

what about it

So we have baking soda and an omelet. Do we wrap the omelet around the legs and throw baking soda at the ants or what?

 

[Dishmop]

Gets rid of ants..

and fleas...

Probably not too keen on talcum powder either.....


lots of things that might block thier airways...

line of coke.....