Pacifist Bees

[beeboy55]

I am having problem with lots of wasps at the moment. 4 hives in the same apiary are being defended successfully by the guard bees. However, one hive is just letting in hoards of wasps even though the entrance was reduced. At first I though that there was not enough bees in the hive but when I lifted the crown board there were lots of bees. Has anyone else seen bees that do not have the defence trait? I have closed the entrance over night to think what to do.

 

[beeno]

Hi beeboy,
They may be Q-?

 

[pargyle]

I am having problem with lots of wasps at the moment. 4 hives in the same apiary are being defended successfully by the guard bees. However, one hive is just letting in hoards of wasps even though the entrance was reduced. At first I though that there was not enough bees in the hive but when I lifted the crown board there were lots of bees. Has anyone else seen bees that do not have the defence trait? I have closed the entrance over night to think what to do.

Put a sheet of glass or clear acrylic in front of the entrance leaning up at an angle in front of the hive - the bees will find their way around it but it confuses the wasps and they tend to fly into it .. after banging their heads a couple of times a fair amount of them tend to give up. If you could move the hive to another location they may have a better chance. Reduce the entrance to one bee space and if you can engineer a tunnel (just a piece of plastic pipe about half inch diameter and a couple of inches long - it doesn't have to be a permanent fixture - just bodge it on with some duct tape) on the entrance the wasps will think twice about getting into it and any beed that are defensive will be able to defend the hive much better.

Lastly (and at the risk of incurring the wrath of a few on here) get yourself a Waspbane Trap - as soon as humanly possible - site it immediately in front of the hive. It works ....

Good luck.

 

[For want of a better word]

Put a sheet of glass or clear acrylic in front of the entrance leaning up at an angle in front of the hive - the bees will find their way around it but it confuses the wasps and they tend to fly into it .. after banging their heads a couple of times a fair amount of them tend to give up. If you could move the hive to another location they may have a better chance. Reduce the entrance to one bee space and if you can engineer a tunnel (just a piece of plastic pipe about half inch diameter and a couple of inches long - it doesn't have to be a permanent fixture - just bodge it on with some duct tape) on the entrance the wasps will think twice about getting into it and any beed that are defensive will be able to defend the hive much better.

Lastly (and at the risk of incurring the wrath of a few on here) get yourself a Waspbane Trap - as soon as humanly possible - site it immediately in front of the hive. It works ....

Good luck.

All of the above!!

Good luck

Mytten da

 

[beeboy55]

They are definitely Q+ just checked. Thanks pargyle for some constructive ideas I will get to work and will be interested to see how well they work.

 

[oliver90owner]

'Lots of bees' is a little subjective. I reckon my estimate of a strong colony is beyond that of many on here.

 

[Gribbee]

As Pargyle.
I would just add that placing the glass or acrylic at a steep angle so the bees (and wasps if they get around it) have to walk from the corner of the hive to the entrance makes it much easier for the bees to detect the wasp. I have also noticed that wasps are active much earlier in the day than bees and often gain unchallenged access first thing in the morning. If you can lock in your bees in the evening and release them a little later in the morning when they have warmed up a little, this may help too.