Bee Health
Wasps and Asian Hornets!
Hi fellow beekeepers, bees are going flat out right now so have an extra super ready in case you need it. The wasps are starting to appear now so you should consider reducing the entrance size to your hive. It is also a good time to be on the lookout for the Asian Hornet, remember, it has only one band of yellow on the abdomen, European hornets have the full yellow abdomen like the wasps. If wasps are bothering your hives, here are some possible remedies, move the affected hive to another location, the chances are there is a wasp nest nearby. You could use an underfloor entrance to your hive, or in a desperate solution, seal the entrance to your hive with foam or sponge but fit a length of hose pipe to extend beyond the landing board a few inches, the bees seem to figure it out . Anything is better than losing the hive. Be sure to stock up with syrup to feed towards winter, if the temperature is still above 15 degrees keep the feed topped up, once it goes colder you will need to rely on fondant. Our mild winters mean the bees eat more than they would otherwise so always have fondant ready if stores dwindle. You can insert pencil size pieces of fondant through the entrance rather than risk cooling the hive. (I prepare small sticks of fondant, then freeze them separated from each other, this is the easiest way to top up feed in the winter months).
Peter Kirkup
Asian Hornet Co-ordinator
Wasps Alert!!
Wasps and European Hornets are starting to make an appearance around the hives.
To keep the pesky invaders out:
Reduce the entrance size of the hive, to give the bees a smaller area to defend.
Put out wasp traps, these can be bought or easily made with a jam jar with a hole made in the lid or from a plastic drinks bottle as shown. Jam attracts wasps, but not bees. Do not use honey in the bait of course!
Be tidy, keep rubbish away from the apiary which could attract wasps and other pests!
Asian Hornet update!
Hi everyone, just a quick note on our European hornet, these are much bigger than a wasp but they do have a striped yellow and black rear, the thorax (or shoulder area) is brown and their head is yellow. I noticed an increase in sightings of the hornet in 2023. This year I am seeing more of them. I asked a pest control officer in our area about his sightings, he also believes numbers have risen. I spilled some bee feed at the entrance to one of my hives, every evening a hornet arrives, licks the landing board and leaves. It shows no interest in the bees nor to enter the hive. The bees do not attack it either, is this an uneasy truce?. Try not to spill feed on or in your hive, take the wax frame scrapings away from your apiary, you do not want to attract wasps I am sure. With the blackberry in flower the honey should start building. Our warm autumn and mild winter means you need to feed more or leave more stores in your hives. Each of my hives had about 30lb of honey, 12l syrup and 2 kg of fondant between September and March the bees ate it all but I did not lose any to starvation.
Peter Kirkup
PBKA Asian Hornet Coordinator
Starvation warning from WBKA!
Dear Beekeepers
Our Regional Bee Inspector, Dan Baxter has asked me to forward the article below on starving bees to all contacts in Wales. With the cooler temperatures and inclement weather starvation is being observed across Wales by the inspectorate and supplementary feeding may be recommended to minimise colony losses. I am also getting reports from Association secretaries about colony losses due to starvation and there is no promise of better weather in the near future.
Pembrokeshire Beekeepers' Association 