ARE FLOWERS BLOOMING EARLY AND DO HORNETS LIKE PRAWNS?
Everyone is busy and we have no meetings at this time of year.
Various conversations about the constant challenges of bee keeping and how not one year is the same. The mild winters and this present weather seem to be good for the wasps and many members have remarked on the large numbers of wasps about. Naturally, one of the discussions revolved Asian Hornets feasting on prawn at the fish around how to deal with a wasp nest.
There was no consensus about how to deal with a nest in a tree or attic. One easy solution for a nest in the ground is to wait until evening and simply pour 2-3 pints of petrol into the entrance and close it with a brick. Rapid and does not involve pesticides. Various wasp traps or deterrents are useful.
The latest extreme weather – the heatwave was discussed last month and in fact, drought is a major issue. Members reporting flower bearing trees just shedding blossom and/or flowering early, just as do the border plants. There were also concerns that ivy seems to be ready to flower soon in some places. All these raise concerns for how the bees will cope if there is not enough forage for winter stores and especially lack of pollen for the brood. Sugar is relatively easy to supply if need be.
We are constantly on guard for the Asian Hornet and are heartened to hear of successful eradication of nests. It is a frightening prospect driven home to one member who had visited Dinard, Brittany on holiday. They found that the fish stalls on the market were inundated with Asian Hornets. Ten or more hornets on each stall, “sniffing” at everything. They seemed to be feeding on shellfish and particularly the fresh cooked prawns, though on one stall live lobsters seemed to be a source of interest. This was the scene in every fish stall in the market.
In comparison, only one was seen in the rest of the market of numerous cheese, meat or cake stalls. Overall, it was striking that no one was in the slightest interested, except for the fish mongers who had to be careful to avoid them when picking up handfuls of prawns…
Steve Brown