When I went to Rabun County to harvest honey at the beginning of August, I found a dead European hornet on the hive landing. I have since learned that the beekeepers in N. Georgia are having quite a time with the European hornet and the baldfaced hornet. It looks to me as if the bees balled the hornet and then dragged her body out onto the landing.
I searched for the answer to how the bees might have killed the hornet. I found this wonderful video on National Geographic about the ways bees kill the giant hornet in Japan. But I imagine it's just what happened to the hornet in my hive.
If you'd like to see it,
here it is.
Rusty, with fall coming on all my hives are getting increased "interest" from the local yellowjacket/wasp populations. I have traps up everywhere! And yesterday, as I prepared to leave the beeyard after a very peaceful and sting-free bout of applying formic acid pads to all the hives, I must have got too close to a yellowjacket nest...got 5 stings all at once, crushed most of my attackers, all were yellowjackets. Got in the car, and began to realize I was getting itchy...really, really itchy!. I took a dose of Benadryl at the next stoplight, but by the time I got home the sting sites were throbbing, swollen, and I was breaking out in hives all over. And did I mention the itching? Gad. Once the Benadryl went to work things settled down, but it knocks me out so I was in bed soon after. And I am still itchy and swollen a day later! I don't react to bee stings at all after three years of beekeeping, but hornets appear to be another thing...
ReplyDeleteVery interesting video . I don't react to bee sting either but the yellow jacket sting is whole different ballgame. Last year they built a nest in my front flowerbed and every time I went out the door they went into attack mode. One attack left me with 15 stings and a trip to the hospital. It was right after that one that we figured out where they were nesting.... I normally don't use chemicals in the garden but believe me that nest got a triple dose the first night followed up with two more treatments a few days later.
ReplyDeleteWarm air temperature between 46°C and 48°C kills varroa mites for sure.
ReplyDeletePut the bees in a wire cage and the cage in a small isolated box. Stabilize the temperature.
It is natural and easy process which helps against bee viruses, too.