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Saturday 18 August 2018

Protecting the hives

This Summer has been one of the worst in memory for wasps: I know they're fascinating insects and that they play an important role in pest control and pollination, but they are not only a bit of a nuisance if you're trying to enjoy a picnic or barbecue, but - more importantly from our point of view - they can be a menace to honey bees. Bees are not only extremely brave, but also surprisingly good at defending the hive: the guards are very efficient killers, and it's interesting that Linda and I have witnessed very many bee-on-wasp combats, all of which the bees won!

Nevertheless, they need a little help when there are a lot of wasps around, so we hung a sugar trap in our sycamore tree: we have to empty it every two days! Also noteworthy is that Hornets will occasionally hang around the trap and pick off the odd wasp!





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