FAO Karol

[Millet]

We have around sixteen of these Wolf wasps that have taken up residence in one of the sandy flower beds, they are not far from the hive should i be worried and destroy them or do they take a bare minimal of honey bees, i have been watching them for several days and they seem to be just burrowing the tunnel out for now.
Thank You.
Steve.

 

[Swarm]

I wouldn't worry about those.

 

[mintmoth]

Bee wolves dig tunnels with up to 30 chambers. Each chamber is stocked with up to 5 bees, so unless you have a plague of them, they won't deplete your bees too much. I see them around here occasionally as there is a sand quarry up the road, though they are supposed to be fairly rare in Leicestershire.

 

[domino]

That's pretty cool.

 

[Karol]

Hi Millet,

I think it's one of those situations that you'll need to monitor. The numbers that you are talking about aren't a big threat but bee wolves can establish quite big cities. At one particular bee wolf city I came across in Norfolk there were over 150 dens and honeybees were being dropped at a high rate (one every few seconds).

Bee wolf cities that are remote to a hive won't be much of a threat as they ambush hunt honeybees at work so individual hives probably don't even notice the losses. Having a substantial bee wolf city next to a hive might be a different story if they then focus on honeybees solely from that hive.

Might be easier to move the hive if that's an option. Seems a shame to kill the wasps especially as they will invariably pick off older and weaker honeybees that probably won't have much time left anyway!

 

[Millet]

I have always seen the odd one flying about but since i have had the bees the numbers have risen, so they must be feeding on the bees and obviously the numbers are going to rise,the soil in the area is pretty sandy so my thinking is this is one of many cities in the vicinity, i will be keeping a very close eye on them.
Can they sting us by the way Karol. ? .

 

[Millet]

I have always seen the odd one flying about but since i have had the bees the numbers have risen, so they must be feeding on the bees and obviously the numbers are going to rise,the soil in the area is pretty sandy so my thinking is this is one of many cities in the vicinity, i will be keeping a very close eye on them.
Can they sting us by the way Karol. ? .

I gather that is unseen or a unknown question to answer, the spot will be destroyed soon.

 

[Karol]

I have always seen the odd one flying about but since i have had the bees the numbers have risen, so they must be feeding on the bees and obviously the numbers are going to rise,the soil in the area is pretty sandy so my thinking is this is one of many cities in the vicinity, i will be keeping a very close eye on them.
Can they sting us by the way Karol. ? .

Theoretically they can but never known anyone to report they've been stung by a bee wolf.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Theoretically they can but never known anyone to report they've been stung by a bee wolf.

That would require the victim to know what a bee wolf is. I'd never heard of the species until this thread so I think it's fair to say most of the public wouldn't either.

 

[Karol]

The point being Gilberdyke John that bee wolves don't invade our space like eusocial wasps do because they don't sweet feed in the same way. So, in all the countless thousands of hours I've spent doing research and providing professional services at theme parks, zoos, visitor attractions, outdoor hostelries etc, I've never yet encountered a bee wolf that's been a problem - seen them occasionally feeding on nectar but never ever around other sweet foods.

 

[Swarm]

I have them in the garden most years, they just keep themselves to themselves.

 

[Millet]

I have them in the garden most years, they just keep themselves to themselves.

I see the odd ones every year but this year they have multiplied ten fold and i have a good idea why, that is why they need moving because next year the numbers could double again, it is not worth the risk after the effort and money i have put into this hobby, i want this colony to go into winter strong so i will do what it takes.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

The point being Gilberdyke John that bee wolves don't invade our space like eusocial wasps do because they don't sweet feed in the same way. So, in all the countless thousands of hours I've spent doing research and providing professional services at theme parks, zoos, visitor attractions, outdoor hostelries etc, I've never yet encountered a bee wolf that's been a problem - seen them occasionally feeding on nectar but never ever around other sweet foods.

My point was if anyone had been stung by one only someone who knew it was a bee wolf would be in a position to report it as such. Most members of the public wouldn't know or care what species had stung them, just that it hurt. I take your point about the likelihood being low. I'll probably never encounter one as soil around here is clay and doesn't seem good for tunnelling insects

 

[Millet]

My point was if anyone had been stung by one only someone who knew it was a bee wolf would be in a position to report it as such. Most members of the public wouldn't know or care what species had stung them, just that it hurt. I take your point about the likelihood being low. I'll probably never encounter one as soil around here is clay and doesn't seem good for tunnelling insects

If i get Zapped of one when i dig them out
you will be the first to know.

 

[Karol]

My point was if anyone had been stung by one only someone who knew it was a bee wolf would be in a position to report it as such. Most members of the public wouldn't know or care what species had stung them, just that it hurt. I take your point about the likelihood being low. I'll probably never encounter one as soil around here is clay and doesn't seem good for tunnelling insects

I absolutely understand and acknowledge your point insofar as people being stung probably wouldn't look too closely at what stung them ergo they wouldn't report it as such BUT that doesn't change the fact that I've never seen a bee wolf in a position representing a threat to humans against a back drop of vespine sting rates frequently in excess of 1000 recorded cases per six week peak period per larger visitor attraction as recorded in their first aid record books. So when I say I've never seen a reported case I'm confident that it doesn't happen and that the risk is not low, it's less than negligible.