“Got one!” said the robber fly, carting off its prey. “Oh no!” cries the beekeeper as another worker bites the dust. As if honey bees and their keepers don’t have enough to worry about, we have scads of robber flies all over the continent from sea to sea. Although you may not be familiar with […] Read more
Do you think of rats as honey bee predators? I never once considered it until I saw these photos taken by Tracy Klein of Seattle. I know that rats are considered intelligent and innovative, and Tracy’s photos seem to prove it. Her rats learned how to take out both the entrance reducers from the front […] Read more
Beekeepers here in North America are all too familiar with the bald-faced hornet Dolichovespula maculata. Depending on where you live, this wasp may also be referred to as a white-faced hornet, blackjacket, or bull hornet. The bald-faced hornet is actually a close relative of the aerial yellowjacket Dolichovespula arenaria, which also can give beekeepers a […] Read more
After I wrote about the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) entering Great Britain, a beekeeper living in southern France wrote to me about his five-year struggle with these aggressive bee eaters. Michael Judd, originally from England, keeps ten hives at an elevation of 789 meters (2588 feet) under a small wild-flower-covered mountain near the village of […] Read more
Danger is everywhere for a bee. We tend to think of mites, beetles, wax moths, and viral diseases coupled with pesticides and other environmental hazards, but they are only part of the story. Birds swoop out of the heavens and snatch them on the wing. Frogs lurk at watering holes, launching themselves at passersby. Badgers, […] Read more
A pile of abdomens. That’s about all I have left of this small honey bee colony. My first thought was to blame the shrews, but shrews don’t seem to fit the situation. On the other hand, maybe there is more to shrew-dom than I ever thought. Colony background This colony, on hive stand #1, was […] Read more
No matter how many yellowjackets you’ve dealt with this past summer, I’m sure it was nothing like this. The nest in this video was filmed in central Florida where southern yellowjackets, and many other wasp species, can overwinter. According to Jonathan Simpkins, the entomologist/pest control guy who shot the video, this nest is six-and-a-half feet […] Read more