Cheeky sods!

[Geoff]

I have noticed the odd ant scurrying about but how about this for blooming cheek? I noticed a line of ants marching up the hive and one was carrying a white object. When i lifted off the roof this is what I found on the crown board. Obviously the ground is wet and this place above the brood chamber( new colony) comes with underfloor heating. Immediate eviction was in order and I smeared some grease I found in the garage on each of the legs of the hive stand. Could not find a single ant afterwards.
There was a wasp nosing around later and i thought thats a bit early in the year to be pestering the bees. But then I noticed it was dropping into the grass. It had obviously spotted the ant larvae that I had evicted.

 

[Geoff]

Well they are persistent. Today i found them again marching up the side of the hive and onto the new crown board. No grubs this time but they were obviously thinking about it. They must not have liked all the rain overnight and this morning. They got over the grease. Found some engine oil in the garage and gave a good coating to the bottom of each leg. So far they have stopped.

 

[Normandie]

At our French bee school, one of the hives had ants exactly like your photo. However, the guy working the hive said that he isn't averse to ants doing that. His reasoning is that ants and bees can live alongside each other particularly as any formic acid will be bad for any varroa so it's not a bad thing.

We're encountering a few procedures and attitudes that differ from the English-language books. Any comments on his views about the potentially beneficial effect of ants would be appreciated.

 

[mark s]

dont ants only produce formic acid when they are under threat or being attacked?? i might be wrong.......lol i usually am

 

[Geoff]

The ants are probably attracted by the feeder that was there and if they like the sugar then the honey in the supers???
Also I did a food hygiene course the other month that was specifically geared towards honey production and the tutor emphasised cleanliness in the honey extraction and processing area, pointing out that ants carry germs. I said that I was concerned about ants getting into the supers while in the hive and it was felt this was a risk of contamination, so a discussion ensued as to how best to reduce the risk - the favourite idea was to use engine oil on the stand legs.

 

[BKF Admin]

If you could see the conditions and tools some old boys have used to extract and bottle honey then ants would be the least of our worries..

 

[match]

I get exactly the same situation, but with silverfish - up to 40 or 50 of them on top of the coverboard under the roof. No idea if they're breeding there, or just hiding out somewhere nice and warm, but still very annoying when you take the cover off and they run everywhere (including sometimes down into the super!)

Any ideas on how to discourage this? Or do I just put up with these bedsitters?

 

[jezd]

I get exactly the same situation, but with silverfish - up to 40 or 50 of them on top of the coverboard under the roof. No idea if they're breeding there, or just hiding out somewhere nice and warm, but still very annoying when you take the cover off and they run everywhere (including sometimes down into the super!)

Any ideas on how to discourage this? Or do I just put up with these bedsitters?

Do you have damp issues as its hard to understand why you have silverfish, I would apply an oil to the timber - teak oil should be ok

Never had that issue mind lol

 

[Hombre]

I have noticed a lot of earwigs in the last two weeks which appeared to move fast and not unlike silver-fish. A lot by comparison to none a month ago. Four or five hives out of maybe 30 checked, In the space around the roof, maybe sheltering from the weather.

 

[Heather]

For the first time- I have killed quite a few wax moths, (in different hives)- before any grubs seen, so I hope that I nipped in the bud. Ants seem to run over the cover board but dont make it into the hive - no eggs thankfully.

 

[Haughton Honey]

I have noticed a lot of earwigs in the last two weeks which appeared to move fast and not unlike silver-fish. A lot by comparison to none a month ago. Four or five hives out of maybe 30 checked, In the space around the roof, maybe sheltering from the weather.

I've had this issue too Hombre...

 

[Geoff]

For earwigs put a plant pot on a stick and stuff straw in pot. Every so often shake out pot into a bucket of water. I used to grow dahlias and that is why the old guys used to have pots on sticks round the allotments. Don't know why they went specifically for dahlias, used to nibble the petals and cut dahlias in the house would always have loads. The light coloured ones are those that have just shed their skins.
I get them in my hives but as they stay under the roof I am not too concerned.
For wax moths I will have to dig out the recipe for wax moth lure. you will be surprised at how many are around.