And the winner is.....

If you read last week's blog you will know that I am distressed by early wasps patrolling the apiary and I took advantage of P being away on cricket tour to try some of his beers as bait in the wasp traps in an effort to catch more wasps and fewer other insects.  I also used the blog as a test to find out whether P ever reads the blog himself.   The results are unequivocal!

 

In third place....

 

It's the French beer flavoured with Tequila, Desperados.  I can report that  wasps don't like it at all.  Neither do any other flying insects.  The two traps baited with Desperados caught nothing! I've since found out that P doesn't like it either!

 

In second place...

 

Hobgoblin.  Yes, that's the other beer I tried last week.  Initially I thought that Hobgoblin, the Wychwood brewery's "Traditionally Crafted Legendary Ruby Beer" was a more selective bait than the old wasp trap recipe because I thought I could see only wasps when I peered up in to the bottom of one of the traps after a couple of hours.   However, it transpires that these were the only wasps caught all week.  Sure, European Hornets, moths and flies weren't attracted to the Hobgoblin but only a couple of wasps were too.  P's beer is safe - notwithstanding that wasps menace beer glasses in pub gardens all August, they somehow are not remotely attracted to wasp traps baited with beer. 

 

We have scoured the garden for wasp nests to no avail.  The neighbours are on high alert but the villains could be coming in from the field. Meanwhile, I refilled all the wasp traps, this time using a modified recipe from the local beekeeper's magazine.   I mixed a couple of teaspoons of home made blackcurrant jam with a little boiling water and topped it up with cold to 1/4 pint before filling the traps and hanging them on hooks near the apiary and in the orchard.  Within minutes, i.e. between hanging one trap up and taking out the next one, this bait started working and there wasn't even a teaspoon of alcohol included unlike the old recipe. 

 

In this next picture, if you look carefully, you can see two wasps heading for a trap.

In first place...

So the clear winner is the fruit jam and water bait. 

 

Don't waste your beer on wasps and remember, never use honey or sugar because that attracts bees into the traps.

What's the best beer to bait a wasp trap with?

 

Guiness

Hobgoblin

London Pride

Greene King IPA

Brakspeare's Bitter

Peroni

Desperados

It was really distressing last weekend to open up the G Bees' hive and find two bees valiantly wrestling with a wasp.  I helped them out by squashing the wasp with my hive tool and I helped chase out a second wasp.  My precious G Bees are under attack.

 

I put every wasp trap I could find in the apiary and the orchard nearby.  This weekend, wasps are still casing the apiary trying to find a way in to the hives.  

 

I inspected the contents of the traps to check they're working.   On average, we're catching about 70 wasps per trap per week.  This one is representative.

We also get about 10 European Hornets.

I'm not a big fan - the Summer they nested in our front porch and invaded our bedroom when we left the light on and the windows open was not fun but they don't hurt the bees and I don't mind if they nest at the bottom of the garden as long as they keep away from the house.

 

Unfortunately, we also get about the same number of moths.  There are so many I'm not attempting to identify this one, except I don't think it's a large wax moth.

We also get assorted black flies that are hard to identify after a week in a wasp trap.

 

So, I am on a mission to find a wasp trap attractant that attracts a higher proportion of wasps and a lower proportion of other insects.  Hence the beer.

 

This is also a test to see whether P ever reads our blog.  He was away playing cricket and I had the house to myself so I lined up all the different kinds of beer I could find so that I could choose which one to try in the wasp traps this week.   I should add that I don't drink beer.........  

 

For the first beer I chose Hobgoblin.  With 5.2% alcohol by volume this "Traditionally Crafted Legendary Ruby Beer" brewed by the Wychwood Brewery sounds like the magic potion I need.   One bottle wasn't enough for all the traps so I had to select another one!  Desperados is one I haven't heard of before but with 5.9% alcohol by volume and flavoured with Tequila, this beer that is brewed in France sounds as though it may do the trick.  (How come it's in our pantry?)

 

I have left one trap baited with the usual recipe ( see the blog for 3 August 2014) as a control.

 

After a couple of hours the signs are good - peering up under the traps I could see wasps settling into an alcoholic sleep at the bottom but no hornets so far.  Just as well because there are still wasps flying ominously around the hive looking for a way in.

Bee Health & Diseases

A scary but vital day out with our regional bee inspector

I have lots of books about bees;

 

I attended the beekeeping training run by my local beekeepers;

 

I bought the laminated cards that illustrate the main diseases that affect bees which are suitable for taking to the apiary so you can check what you see “on site”;  

 

but I still wondered whether I could spot one of the serious diseases because, quite frankly, the photographs in the books and on the laminated cards show hexagonal comb of various colours and it is tough to distinguish those pictures from what I see in the apiary.

One of the benefits of membership of the local beekeepers’ association is that we get to find out about excellent events like the recent Bee Health & Diseases day with Keith, our regional bee inspector and his seasonal bee inspectors (SBIs) and this was so worthwhile.

In addition to the plenary sessions, more of which later, we rotated through 3 sessions in smaller groups.   

 

Bee Diseases

Our first session included study of large laminated cards (possibly larger versions of my small cards), showing American Foul Brood (AFB), European Foul Brood (EFB) Chalk Brood, Sac Brood, etc. with an SBI pointing out the salient features.     This was useful but not very different to studying books at home.   What made a significant difference was the chance to examine real frames showing some of these nasties.    Of course, we were kitted out with disposable personal protective equipment.  

 

Suddenly it became much easier to spot the difference between healthy Michelin Man larva and EFB blobs.  We watched a demonstration of the difference between the “stringing” that distinguishes AFB from EFB and the SBI used field test kits to show how quickly these diseases can be identified in the field these days.  Most importantly we got to smell these infected frames.  The stench was ghastly!  I frankly have doubts about my ability to spot AFB scale – the black scaly residue that clings to the bottom of cells – but I believe I would spot the disease by smell alone from some distance.  Likewise EFB.   I am pretty sure I could spot chalk brood; I think I could spot sac brood and at least I can test for it.  We were all mightily relieved to exit the room that held these horrors – and that smell - think fox poo and you're close!

Varroa

Our second session was all about Varroa, those insidious little creatures that plague our bees.   It was a good chance to discuss effective and ineffective treatments and how to use them.    We even discussed how to dispose of left over chemicals.  The details on packaging are, at best, vague.

Apiary Visit

The third session was really illuminating.  We walked to an orchard on the edge of the village where there was a large apiary and two SBIs who demonstrated how they inspect colonies.    I think my local beekeepers had done a good job at our practical beekeeping lessons because this wasn’t really new.   Sadly, we observed a colony with Chronic Bee Paralysis (CBP).  I suspect that if I saw a heap of dead bees outside a hive and shaking bees, wobbly on their feet on the landing board and floor, I might think there was something wrong but having seen the bees’ behaviour, this is something I might now spot earlier.  Apparently, a colony may recover from CBP if they are given TLC, i.e. plenty of space and fed but it’s not guaranteed.

 

The very scary plenary sessions focussed on non-native species that are a threat to bees and beekeeping.

Small Hive Beetle

Link to Wikipedia on Small Hive Beetle

SHB  has been found in Italy and it’s believed to be only a question of time before it comes to Blighty.   Keith recommended using traps (Better Beetle Blasters) to monitor for Small Hive Beetles.  Other parts of the world have developed techniques for dealing with these but pending identification and control, they can reduce a the insides of a hive to mush.  

 

Asian Hornet

By far the scariest thing of the BHD was what we learnt about the Asian Hornet.  In their native territory, these hornets are not a pest to the local bee population but European bees are a different strain and Asian Hornets have spread rapidly in France since their arrival there.  These hornets are smaller than the native European Hornet from which they can be identified by their primarily brown colour.  Keith showed us videos from which clearly demonstrated why these insects are such a problem to beekeepers.  The link below is to the video showing how Asian Hornets patrol outside the front of beehives and catch foraging bees in mid-air before they can get back in to the hive.

 

Asian Hornets Hawking a Hive

 

The Asian Hornets strip off the head, wings and legs and take the remains, which includes nectar back to their nest.   In the video the French bees cluster on the landing board seemingly afraid to go out.   Asian Hornets are not dependant on eating bees. Their diet includes fruit and meat.   Honey yields in France have plummeted; there must be an effect on pollination from the reduced activity of honey bees too.

If you spot one, please report it!

Link to non-native species on Asian Hornet