Colony decimated by wasps. Anything at all I can do?

[sheena]

My colony has been under attack from wasps. I've done everything I could think of. Entrance has been down to one bee space, ( with a little tunnel rigged up in the hope the bees could defend easier with that ) Wasp traps everywhere, hours spent picking off wasps one by one, hours spent looking for the nest(s).

Wasps have been crazy here this year. They are very aggressive to the bees.

Anyway, weeks of being under attack and I now have hardly any bees left at all. The queen is there trying to do her thing, but I'm down to hundreds ( if that ). Its been very traumatic for us all!!

So basically they are doomed. Unless anyone can come up with any suggestions. Could I for example rig up a mini nuc box and keep the queen and her few companions in the porch over winter?

Should I see if the bee keeping association near me wants the queen? Seems a bit late in the year to do anything with her though. Is it too late to try to introduce her to another hive? I know of one that may possibly be queenless - either that or she stopped laying early this year. Is it worth offering her to them on the offchance? I know that would be very unlikely to work as if the hive is queenless then they probably have been now for too long.

Anyway, any suggestions please?

 

[For want of a better word]

Merge to a stronger queenless colony using newspaper between the brood boxes.
One thing that did work this year was to place a large clear sheet of perspex / phlexiglass/ glass at an angle over the hive entrance... plus usual traps and closing down entrance size.

 

[sheena]

Thanks. I wish I'd thought of using some glass/plastic. I'll see how the possibily queenless hive owner feels but if that's not a possibility then..

Do they need to be able to fly over winter? I know ideally they should stretch their wings of a day when possible but would it stress them not to be able to get out? I imagine it would but looking for confirmation. - leading to - Would it be completely insane to put them in a nuc and bring them indoors for the winter. At this rate I may only have the queen and a few workers.

 

[Nige.Coll]

i was reading something other day , it suggested moving the hive under attack and putting an empty hive with a wasp trap inside in the same place.
removing the hive completely makes the wasps move onto another hive and makes the problem worse it said.
don't know if that will help haven't tried it as i haven't had that much of a wasp problem so far.

 

[beeno]

Hi Sheena,
You have got the queen which can be difficult to get this time of the year. How about just buying or having friends donating enough bees to get to nuc size?

 

[sharonh]

Hi Sheena,
I had the same this year with wasps. What I learned was, do not squash wasps near your hive, they send out a pheromone to alert others and you will get more of them.
I also got rid of any home made traps, as some end up being able to crawl on the dead, get out and summon more that sweet food available, again bringing in more wasps.
Invest in a high efficiency trap like wasp bane.
They can be left at the hive, bees won't go into it, but any wasps that do, can not get out.
That's what I did, also a small pane glass sitting from landing board against front hive ,taped to hold. I just used a glass from a small picture frame.
My hive were able to defend well but I had a colony in a poly nuc that were having the trouble. I made a Perspex shield infront of entrance with just one side available to get in, to get to a one bee space entrance, that has worked a treat.
Now that colony has increased well and well able to defend.
Prior to doing all this, I had to close that colony up two different days as wasps were over taking.
Sharon

 

[sharonh]

Thanks. I wish I'd thought of using some glass/plastic. I'll see how the possibily queenless hive owner feels but if that's not a possibility then..

Do they need to be able to fly over winter? I know ideally they should stretch their wings of a day when possible but would it stress them not to be able to get out? I imagine it would but looking for confirmation. - leading to - Would it be completely insane to put them in a nuc and bring them indoors for the winter. At this rate I may only have the queen and a few workers.

PS Sheena,
You might need to put them into a poly nuc if gone to a small colony, best chance of survival. You can't bring them in doors as you suggested, bees come and go, getting water, cleansing flights.
There is still new bees emerging, as mine still drawing in pollen loads.
Are bees still bringing pollen into that hive?
If so, I would suggest, reducing them down into a poly nuc, by removing the brood nest frames,and putting them into the nuc, in same order as they were in the hive.
Keep entrance at one bee space,with small Perspex sheet infront of that leaning against front wall.
Invest in a wasp bane trap. you can buy a refill for it to use next so not a waste of money.
Hopefully your bees will recover.
If you had another colony, a strong one, it would be better to unite them with it, but when not, it's best to help them ,any way you can.
A lot of wasps still around and will be until the ivy is finished.
I feel for you ,and anyone who has lost strong colony's due to wasps.
If you go through some prior posts, you will see that a lot of us this year ,had very similar problems with wasp attacks, but you will also get some hints and tips that will help, as it helped me.
Regards.. Sharon

 

[steve1958]

I closed my Hive up yesterday whilst my new shed was being erected.
The Bees were all safely inside, and probably would have stayed there anyway as it was quite cold.
However the wasps still attempted to visit the Hive.
I killed a dozen within half hour.

When I did reopen the door later in the day I made sure there was only room for two or three Bees to pass so that the entrance was easier for them to defend.
I returned to check on them today. The wasps were back but unable to get inside the Hives.

 

[sheena]

Thanks for the tips. I don't think I have enough bees now to make any difference but I have made a perspex shield. I wish I had known not to kill any wasps next to the hive.

There are not many bees round these parts so I can't beg any but does anyone know of anywhere I could buy ( to be posted ) some bees without a queen?

 

[sharonh]

Thanks for the tips. I don't think I have enough bees now to make any difference but I have made a perspex shield. I wish I had known not to kill any wasps next to the hive.

There are not many bees round these parts so I can't beg any but does anyone know of anywhere I could buy ( to be posted ) some bees without a queen?

Hi Sheena,
If the wasps are kept under control, they might recover, as still mild & pollen still coming in.
The nuc I had the problem with, was a swarm cluster, new queen only laying, so I just needed more numbers for them to defend.
They have really built up now & no wasps would get near the one bee entrance. As I said, only one side I left available for bees to gain entry with Perspex shield. More traffic less wasps.

It has worked great. This was a colony I had to totally close in two separate days, as wasps freely flying in & out. They just needed the time to get more bees. Once. I reduced entrance and put shield infront of that again, it gave them the time they needed to increase.
If you are a member of local bee keepers association, they might be able assist also.
Sharon

 

[sharonh]

Sheena,
Did you rehouse them into a poly nuc, because it maybe to do so for a chance of survival.
It's a poly nuc in the picture, but I had to make up a smaller entrance hole than what it had. I bored a hole in a small Perspex sheet & taped infront of original entrance hole.
I made up a little landing board to support the shield that I placed infront of that,
One side of the shield, left side,I blocked with clear pastic, just leaving right side for bees to get in ,so that traffic could be maintained.
More traffic is less chance for wasps.

You might be able to see what I did better in this shoot.
Sheena, don't give up. I had an awful time here with wasps, but I was determined that I wouldn't let them better me.
Do your best for your bees, and you might be surprised how they can recover.
Best of luck