Heads Up

[Karol]

Just to say that we are getting reports that lots of wasp nests are still in their hunting phase. That being the case beekeepers need to be vigilant that 'wasp pressure' doesn't appear to have peaked yet and that vulnerable nucs need to be monitored closely.

 

[enrico]

Thanks

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Thanks Karol.
I've not seen a single European hornet out and about this season - but inadvertently trapped some in the Spring
My neighbour reported an Asian hornet in his garden in the Spring which resulted in the SBI putting traps everywhere and I think the inevitable happened

 

[madasafish]

Lost three mini mating nucs to wasps this year.. a first.
Nil hive or nuc losses.

 

[Erichalfbee]

It's ramping up here
Five colonies are nice and strong with reduced entrances.
One nuc is being targeted, they are on an underfloor entrance and the porch is dummied down to 2.5 cm so effectively there is a tunnel entrance with a right angle bend in it. The guards are coping well with the odd incursion at the front but it's at the back that I spotted most of the wasp. There is a trap there now.

My neighbours half a mile away have been swatting wasps on the hives with the predictable result. I have given them a Waspbane but heaven knows if it will help

 

[pargyle]

It's ramping up here
Five colonies are nice and strong with reduced entrances.
One nuc is being targeted, they are on an underfloor entrance and the porch is dummied down to 2.5 cm so effectively there is a tunnel entrance with a right angle bend in it. The guards are coping well with the odd incursion at the front but it's at the back that I spotted most of the wasp. There is a trap there now.

My neighbours half a mile away have been swatting wasps on the hives with the predictable result. I have given them a Waspbane but heaven knows if it will help

I noticed what I thoiught were a couple of wasps tryiing to gain entry to one of my colonies on Thursday ... tried to get a closer look (I can usually happily stand in front of my hives without them bothering me) bent down to look at the wasps on the landing board and the guard bee stung me on the eyebrow for my trouble ... don't you just love them ? 2 antihistamines and AH sting ointment kept the worst off but spent a day at work with my colleagues and endured all the usual comments .... Who won ? Was it a door or did the wife do it ? Have you been beekeeping again ? etc. etc..

Wasp traps going out today and I've reduced the entrance down .. doesn't seem to be a major problem yet but heeding Karol's warning.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Wasp traps going out today and I've reduced the entrance down .. doesn't seem to be a major problem yet but heeding Karol's warning.

I put the trap at the back of the hive out a few days ago. It already had wasps in it. I borrowed it from the garden. In just a few days it is full. The one at the entrance went out last night and this morning has about twenty wasps in it. I watched both traps carefully for a good half hour. No wasps getting out.

 

[Finman]

.
Not a single wasp here this summer
.

 

[Beefriendly]

We can send you some...

 

[Erichalfbee]

.
Not a single wasp here this summer
.

Perhaps they know the hives belong to you so they wouldn’t dare

 

[Antipodes]

https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/biosecuri...pests-and-diseases/european-and-english-wasps

I didn't realise that we had two types of introduced wasps here until I just read this.

Which sort is the one that causes trouble in the UK, or is it both?

 

[Millet]

No heads up needed.. it is just the same as... well hell yeah when time began ,,we just deal with it..improvise/adapt and over come..

 

[Karol]

https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/biosecuri...pests-and-diseases/european-and-english-wasps

I didn't realise that we had two types of introduced wasps here until I just read this.

Which sort is the one that causes trouble in the UK, or is it both?

Both and more besides.

 

[Karol]

Had a wonderful day at Boscombe today. Couldn't believe the volume of wasps hunting and scavenging on the beach. Doing a wonderful job keeping the flies down and more importantly taking sand fleas by the bucket load (fewer people to get bit by them) plus clearing away debris left by people. Someone dropped a fair portion of their cod & chips and within the hour the cod had been balled and removed - created a nice little space on the beach - quite handy really

 

[Torq]

As an FYI we are also being hammered by wasps over here in Ireland, worst I've seen for years.
T

 

[Karol]

The rest of the UK still hasn't peaked yet. All of the wasps we've been monitoring are still building up brood suggesting it'll get worse before it gets better. Vigilance including increased frequency of monitoring the situation would be prudent. One of the red flags I witnessed at the weekend was wasps cannabalising each other. That only really happens when the wasp population exceeds local resources and unfortunately bee hives are a softer target than other wasps.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The rest of the UK still hasn't peaked yet. All of the wasps we've been monitoring are still building up brood suggesting it'll get worse before it gets better.

Yesterday I picked out maybe a hundred drone larvae from a frame that had been in a robbed out queen less caste that arrived into one of my bait hives. (Hell....that's a useful frame for next years catching)
In no time at all wasps were carving them up and taking the thorax away. I gave them a thumb sized piece of chicken and they took that away too

 

[Karol]

Not in the vicinity of your hives I hope. Not sure of the wisdom of teaching wasps that there's food to be had at the apiary.

 

[citrus]

a mate of mine has hives in surrey and in hampshire

from his straw poll ...

hampshire has been terrible
surrey very quiet

 

[Erichalfbee]

Not in the vicinity of your hives I hope. Not sure of the wisdom of teaching wasps that there's food to be had at the apiary.

No.
At the picnic table on the lawn in front of the house in the sunshine a ten minute walk from the hives. At the apiary the wasps are dissecting evicted drones in the grass. They already know there is food there.