The Hive

Yep, know that one of old Zoe. It is not like them at all. When it is NOT raining and if it stays mild I'll have a look in a couple of hives to see. If I can't find answers, then I wonder if Sherlock Holmes is available?

Wax moths can sometimes give the impression that they're gnawing on the wood, whatever way the larvae seem to do to them.

Oh yes, with a weak colony as you say. But the confounded entrances are not quite enough for even tiny mike to squeeze through (!!!!). I've been out sealing some of them in the (several bad words) rain.

It's not that uncommon to have mice or voles try to move into ives... a weak colony will even just let them set up shop, whereas a stronger colony will kill them, and I've found dead mice completely propolized to the bottom boards, as well as found baby mice nesting in a hive one spring. Often they move into empty boxes, but it's odd that they would move in with a good strong colony still living inside.

Something has been nibbling my hives. It looks like it could be mice from the outside but since when do mice go into hives and face being stung to death? The nibbles are three or four cm across by one or a bit more cm deep on the top rim of the supers, they taper down to a tiny opening of a few mm into the colony. It is a new one on me. In the past I have had pests who have made proper holes, knew what I was dealing with so did it.

I also have something that moves some of the supers. I have wondered if it was cats jumping up to sit on the hives, but since I have never seen it don't think that is it. It is not wind, I have checked after the heaviest winds but mainly found it when the weather is calmer. I have also suspected deer but they would leave their trails and probably a few droppings. Badgers are another suspect, but why would they slightly knock them out of alignment. It is a total mystery. I straighten them out, but soon enough it happens again. One hive in particular but the one near it nothing!

Nasty... but look on the birght side, the weather is warm.... we've lost 4 to the cold sofar, but we've bulked up on insulation since... hopefully the rest pull through.

A forester saw Asian hornets flying around in the warm weather this week. He scanned the trees around and spotted where they were coming from. One of the braver foresters went up and cut off the branch it was attached too and brought it down to the ground. They then got somebody to poison the hornets. I have seen it since and will take the word of one of the foresters who measured it. Top to bottom 1.28m and at its widest a bit over 80cm. That is a bit bigger than descriptions of up to 1m. It would also partly explain how two local apiarists have gone out of business because of the loss of bees.

Welcome to the Hive Chris! Not been a great year for some of us. Mine are hanging on but at least they appear to have learned how to fight back against the Asian pests!

Good news.. if they actually go ahead with it.... there is much posturing on these issues, and in the end, not a lot changes...

A quote from the transcript of BBC interview:

"Over a million colonies are imported globally - it's a huge trade," said Prof Hughes. "And a surprisingly large number of these are produced in factories, mainly in Eastern Europe."

So, don't worry about NZ imports from the looks of it.

are they coming from different countries? and now they know what to look for, is testing before export/import in place?

I know a while back they were reintroducing the short-haired bumblebee from NZ because it was almost extinct in UK. But I find it hard to believe MAF (ministry of ag and fisheries [NZ]) would allow potentially harmful bees to be exported as they are super strict on that kind of thing.

Part two:

A spokeswoman for the department of environment, food and rural affairs said: "Imported colonies of non-native bees are required to be screened for parasites and disease. We will continue to work with NE to ensure that growers who break the rules are punished."

New "tightened" regulations introduced in December require the producers to report the screening they have done and the location of non-native bee colonies imported into the UK to be registered, but no penalties have yet been issued.

Friends of the Earth's Paul de Zylva said: "Limp regulation has already let in ash die-back and doomed millions of British trees. To avoid the same fate for our wild bumblebees ministers must ensure bee importers comply with stricter rules."

Bees and other pollinators are vital for three-quarters of the world's food crops but have experienced major declines in recent decades, due to starvation as their habitat is destroyed, heavy pesticide use and rising disease. "It's often a combination of all three and that may tip them over the edge," said Hughes. For example, he said, bees cannot resist a parasite if they are stressed by a lack of food and also weakened by sub-lethal doses of pesticides.

On Tuesday, 23 of the EU's nations voted successfully to suspend the use of a common pesticide called fipronil because of an acute risk to bees. The UK abstained, as it did when other EU nations voted in favour of banning three neonicotinoid pesticides in April.

Hughes's team bought the 48 colonies in two separate years, 2011 and 2012, to avoid the risk of sampling an unrepresentative year. The parasites found in the imported colonies included the three main bumblebee parasites (Crithidia bombi, Nosema bombi and Apicystis bombi), three honeybee parasites (Nosema apis, Ascosphaera apis and Paenibacillus larvae), and two parasites which infect both bumblebees and honeybees (Nosema ceranae and deformed wing virus).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/18/bumblebees-honeyb...

Imported bumblebees pose risk to UK's wild and honeybee population – study

Thousands of colonies brought into the UK infected with parasites that could easily spill over and wipe out native bees

A bumblebee on a flower

Scientists say the discovery has 'alarming' implications for the health of the UK’s wild bees and honeybees, many of which are already in serious decline, and that urgent action is required to improve ineffective disease screening and close loopholes. Photograph: David McCoy

Over three-quarters of the thousands of bumblebee colonies imported into the UK every year are riddled with parasites, a new study has revealed. Scientists say the discovery has "alarming" implications for the health of the UK's wild bees and honeybees, many of which are already in serious decline, and that urgent action is required to improve ineffective disease screening and close loopholes.

"These parasites will undoubtedly be spilling over into wild and honey bees and very probably having negative effects on them," said Professor William Hughes, at the University of Sussex, who led the new research. "It is no great leap to think that damage is already being done."

The effects include killing bees outright, or harming their ability to learn, which is crucial in finding food. In Argentina, imported parasites are driving native species to extinction.

Over a million bumblebee colonies a year are imported to countries around the world to pollinate greenhouse crops such as tomatoes, with the UK receiving 40,000-50,000. The colonies, sold by a handful of global suppliers, are said by the companies to be disease-free.

But Hughes's team bought 48 commercially produced bumblebee colonies and used DNA testing to reveal five different parasites in the bees and three in the pollen provided by the suppliers as food. The research, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, further showed that three of the parasites were able to infect bumblebees and four could infect honeybees.

Hughes said independent checking of producers' disease-free claims was urgently needed. He said a particular concern was that one of the producers was marketing the colonies for use in peoples' gardens. "They are selling these to help preserve UK bumblebees, but if the imported colonies have parasites it's obviously counterproductive."

Natural England, the government's wildlife body, licences the use – but not the importing or disease screening – of bee colonies. An NE spokeswoman said the new evidence of risk to UK bees was "persuasive". But she said current regulations did not allow action against imported bumblebees which are originally descended from native British bees, but reared overseas. "It is therefore of particular concern that this research has revealed that imported bees – descended from British stock – have been found to be carrying disease."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/16/eu-fipronil-ban-bees?commentpage=1

EU to ban fipronil to protect honeybees
Farmers will not be allowed to spray widely used insecticide blamed for declining bee population

Read this people!

These last few days have been good, but we haven't caught ours in time for swarming, and lost a few, who decided to rest in the highest tree possible, of course.

OH got a call today for a swarm, and is gone to collect it, but other than that, we have pretty healthy hives, accacia rolling in, and the royal jelly is good too. Two weeks ago we were feeding them last year's colza, and now they're piddling accacia nectar. funy old season

Not good. My bees are getting quite mixed up, if it is not cold and wet then the weather is indifferent. Honey production is low this summer so far and will now need the rest of the summer highly productive if they're going to have an overwinter supply.

Just seen this bee report on bbc news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22861651

does anyone know about how the french bees have survived the wet winter?

Welcome, Georgina, hopefully we can find someone to rescue the bees from your wal/house.

I've copiy/pasted from a site already on this page, but one of these people might be able to come, they are listed bee collectors.

John crisp.Kerroch, 56480 Silfiac.Morbihan. Tel :02 97 27 64 15.Collection 25 kilometres from Silfiac, a commune between Cleguerec and Rostrenen. 56/22. E-Mail
Paul Langley. Ste Trephine 22480. Tel. 02 96 29 55 72. Collection up to 25km. E-Mail
Richard Noel. Corseul, 22130 ( in between Dinan and Plancoet). Tel 02 96 82 73 65 Mobile. 06 77 42 14 06.www.beesinbrittany.blogspot.com Collection up to 40 km. E-Mail
Charles Basset. 9 Chemin des roses, 22100 Quevert. Tel. 02 96 39 28 10 Web site Collection Dinan region. E-Mail

Thanks Alan - you're a real star. Will pm you for phone number...

Kate

Hi Kate,

I am in Gans, just off of the Bordeaux to Toulouse motorway near La Reole. The travel time I posted was given by MAPPY and is from my home to St Clar. Just give me a few days notice and I would be happy to come and try to sort out the nest. It would mean that I at least have one colony which might settle in an empty hive.

Going off line as I have two orphan lambs to settle for the night, but that's another story.