Treatment attracting wasps

[derekthegardener]

I've noticed when treating my hives with MAQS recently, that the removal of the entrance block to aid ventilation has the disadvantage of giving wasps easier access to the hives. I've had no problem with wasps this year until I treated, but there was a noticeable increase in wasps getting into the hives with the larger entrance open. Any advice, comments or suggestions welcome. I have put some wasp traps near the hives with some success, but haven't managed to control the incursions satisfactorily.

 

[Torq]

Put the block back in and open your mesh floor a bit.


I haven't seen a wasp for about a month and back then I was emptying the traps every day. They will be back and it's going to be carnage!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Maybe the wasp traps are attracting them?

 

[derekthegardener]

Wasp traps were reactive, no trouble with wasps before treatment started.

 

[Karol]

I've noticed when treating my hives with MAQS recently, that the removal of the entrance block to aid ventilation has the disadvantage of giving wasps easier access to the hives. I've had no problem with wasps this year until I treated, but there was a noticeable increase in wasps getting into the hives with the larger entrance open. Any advice, comments or suggestions welcome. I have put some wasp traps near the hives with some success, but haven't managed to control the incursions satisfactorily.

Interesting. There are so many possibilities but I'll stick to two for now.

1. Formic acid in MAQS may be attracting wasps. Wasps will hunt prey using various strategies. One is that they are highly perceptible to 'odours' that signal the presence of prey - a bit like sharks smelling blood. So for example, wasps will detect grazing insects from the odour of damaged leaves. That's why wasps always seem to turn up when one cuts the lawn. They associate the smell of cut grass with lots of grazing insects. Similarly ants will produce formic acid when attacking prey or when being attacked themselves. It is quite possible that the wasps are being draw to the formic acid looking for insect prey as a consequence of what they perceive to be ant activity.

2. It may well be that the wasps in your area are converting to sweet feeding just as you treated your hive. Opening the entrance block would only serve to facilitate access. I assume that you are using sweet baited traps which would support this especially if you weren't catching wasps prior to treating and opening up the hive. It is quite possible that it is just co-incidence that wasps have started sweet feeding in your area (or that someone has treated a wasp nest nearby and created nuisance sweet feeding wasps) just as you treated making it look as though the treatment was responsible for attracting wasps.

Understanding what's drawing in the wasps in takes a little bit of detailed observation. What you don't want to do is precipitate frenzied protein feeding because that's the worst possible scenario.

 

[Fatbee]

I use the foam entrance blocks when treating that allows air to flow in and out but keeps wasps out. They are blue - you will see them at bee trade shows.

 

[oliver90owner]

As I see it, the problem is not so much the wasps as the colony strength.

 

[derekthegardener]

Thanks for all the comments and observations. Karol's reply is particularly interesting. If Karol could explain what protein feeding is and how one could precipitate, or more importantly avoid precipitating it please. I don't see colony strength as an issue Oliver, they are all (luckily after a very good year) very strong, but were probably out of sorts for the first few days of the treatment and not as inclined to engage with wasp intruders.

 

[mbc]

but were probably out of sorts for the first few days of the treatment and not as inclined to engage with wasp intruders.

Aye, for creatures that communicate by, or respond to the stimuli of scents, the addition of strong smelling fumes (formic, thymol/menthol whatever) causes quite a bit of disruption. For instance, guard bees recognise intruders by their alien smell, I bet the smell has just masked the wasps enough for them to temporaily get their beeks in.

 

[derekthegardener]

Aye, for creatures that communicate by, or respond to the stimuli of scents, the addition of strong smelling fumes (formic, thymol/menthol whatever) causes quite a bit of disruption. For instance, guard bees recognise intruders by their alien smell, I bet the smell has just masked the wasps enough for them to temporaily get their beeks in.

A necessary disruption, as to do nothing would be irresponsible.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Put the block back in and open your mesh floor a bit.


I haven't seen a wasp for about a month and back then I was emptying the traps every day. They will be back and it's going to be carnage!

I agree the block should be in and the effect of an open entrance is equated by having the omf slide ajar. Use traps which wasps can't escape from.

 

[Elaine]

A necessary disruption, as to do nothing would be irresponsible.

Hi - "doing nothing" may be irresponsible but choosing not to treat for varroa after carefully considering the options and the state of the hive(s) and welfare of the bees, is considered by quite a few beekeeprs as a valid option.

 

[Karol]

<snip> If Karol could explain what protein feeding is and how one could precipitate, or more importantly avoid precipitating it please. <snip>.

Protein feeding is a bit of a misnomer.

All adult wasps feed on sweet liquids the only thing that changes is the source of those liquids. Typically in spring the source is nectar (and humans). In late spring - early summer the source is trophallaxis from the wasp grubs from within the nest which convert chitin from ingested insect skeletons into free sugars. In late summer - autumn the source is fruit, late flowering nectar, sap, hives and humans.

The grubs on the other hand require protein to grow. They get this predominantly from insect prey caught and killed by the adults that bring this protein back to the nest resulting in a feeding symbiosis between the adults and the grubs.

Behaviourally what is seen is adult wasps jumping from sweet feeding in spring to insect hunting (protein feeding) back to sweet feeding later in the year.

Generally speaking wasps don't tend to attack hives for protein as this is risky for them so they tend to prey on solitary insects - mainly garden and crop pests and other pests such as flies and biting insects. However, if insect prey is relatively scarce then out of desperation wasps may then attack bee hives for protein (as well as cannibalise each others nests). Scarcity of insect prey is a relative term because it not only reflects the volume of insect prey that is available, it is also a function of the competition between wasps themselves. The worst possible scenario is where there is a high wasp population density (in terms of colonies) and where those colonies are large. This usually happens during warm wet summers (like the one we've just had) where hunting carries over into late autumn and where the nests become unusually large because warm wet conditions support lush vegetation which in turn supports larger populations of insects which in turn supports larger wasp colonies. The crux comes when the wasp nests mature when there is frenzied activity in bringing on the next generation of sexual progeny. In an average nest there will be circa 1500 of each of queens and drones generated. In a big year this can easily jump to 6000 of each of queens and drones. The upshot being that as the sexual progeny grubs mature they need a massive amount of insect prey to sustain their growth. It's at this time that hives are most at risk of protein feeding attacks from wasps and if it happens it is quite difficult to manage. I have a web page detailing the control methods but I'm not supposed to promote it because it's linked to a product. Perhaps others might direct you or you can pm me for more details.

As for not precipitating protein feeding then it is a matter of not doing anything that allows wasps to gain the upper hand over your hives. All activities which are likely to attract wasps need to be minimised and all steps taken to help hives rebuff wasp attacks. You might find this link interesting that shows the interplay between wasps and ants in support of what I was saying earlier about wasps seeking out prey on the back of the smell of formic acid (produced by ants):

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=889_1342170019

Having strong colonies is very important but it's no guarantee. I've seen big strong hives get decimated by wasps in a matter of hours where environmental conditions have contrived to create the perfect wasp storm.

 

[derekthegardener]

A very thorough and informative answer, thank you Karol. I'll PM for more info.