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Enemies of bees can cause great damage to beekeeping if the necessary measures are not taken to create protection for the bee colony. Pests that eat bees and their waste products can be among insects, mammals, birds. To effectively deal with them, each beekeeper needs to know the main representatives and how to deal with them correctly.
Who can threaten the bees
The appearance of a threat to the bee colony causes anxiety in the bees, due to which they increase food intake and reduce the delivery of bribes. All pests of bees that harm them were conditionally divided into 2 groups according to the way of life relative to the bee family:
- bee parasites that live permanently or seasonally in hives (various moths, mites, beetles, mice) feed on wax, bee bread, honey, wooden parts of the house, insect corpses;
- predators living separately from bees, but hunting for them or honey – insectivorous birds, reptiles, mammals, carnivorous insects.
The amount of damage can be different: from disruption of the usual rhythm of life to the extinction of an entire bee family or the bees leaving the hive. In any case, this negatively affects the results of all beekeeping and should be stopped in time. For each pest, their own methods of control have been developed and tested.
Insect class pests
Enemies of bees from the class of insects are the most numerous and their impact on the bee colony and its life is also diverse. Some insects ravage the hive, others feed on honey, and still others feed on the bees themselves.
Parasites (louse braula)
Braul’s louse is a wingless insect about 0,5-1,5 mm in size. Settles on the body of adult bees, queens and drones, infecting them with a disease called braulosis. It feeds on the honey burp of its owner. Braulosis manifests itself in the fact that the uterus becomes disturbed by lice and sharply reduces egg production.
If the disease has been severely affected, then quarantine is imposed on the hive to prevent further spread. Treatment is carried out with the drug “Phenothiazine”, camphor, naphthalene or smoking tobacco smoke. The course consists of several sessions. It is necessary to cure sick families before the honey plant.
Ants
Such forest inhabitants as ants also like to eat honey, therefore they are considered sweet tooth and pests. There is a variety among them – red ants, aggressively attacking the bees themselves. Ants attack mainly weak bee colonies, eating their supplies, eggs, larvae.
A group of ants can carry up to 1 kg of honey per day.
How to get rid of ants in a bee hive
In the case when the ants attacked the hive, there is nothing left but to temporarily relocate the bees to another place. It is impossible to fight ants in a hive with bees without harming the bees. After removing the bees, the house is cleaned of pests and brought into proper shape for further use: unnecessary gaps are eliminated, the legs of the houses are lubricated with mineral oil.
How to deal with ants in the apiary
Before establishing an apiary, the territory is examined for the presence of anthills and hives are located away from ant dwellings. At least at a distance of 150-200 m. The fight against ants in the apiary consists in setting the legs of the hives in a container with water or kerosene. And also in laying out the leaves of garlic, tomato and mint to scare away uninvited pests.
Anthills should not be destroyed if they are at a great distance from the apiary. Ants are beneficial by working as orderlies in case of an infectious disease of bees, eating diseased insects and their corpses.
If the anthill is close to the apiary, and the ants in the hive harm the bees, then the anthill is cut off and poured with boiling water with a decoction of poisonous herbs or kerosene.
Butterfly “Dead Head”
A large night butterfly with a wingspan of up to 12 cm from the Brazhnikov family is considered a pest because it feeds on honey, penetrating into the hives through cracks. The butterfly is called “Dead Head” (Acherontia Atropos) because of the pattern on the back, resembling a skull and crossbones. It reaches a length of 5-6 cm. For one night raid, an insect can eat from 5 to 10 g of honey.
Butterfly caterpillars eat nightshade leaves, on which they live until their adulthood. The main methods of combating the “Dead Head” are:
- capture of individuals;
- destruction of caterpillars;
- installation of gratings on notches through which butterflies cannot pass.
Hornet, that’s it
Wasps and hornets, related to real wasps, are considered the worst pests of bees. These insects not only eat honey reserves in the hives, but also kill bees. Attacks are made, as a rule, on weak families in the second half of the working summer. If the danger exists in the form of wasps or hornets, then the bees can stop bringing a bribe and start protecting the hive. Then the collection of honey will be significantly reduced.
Hornets attack bees not only in the hives, but also outside, waiting for them while collecting nectar on a flower. The foraging bee is killed, the contents of its crop are sucked out, and the paralyzed corpse is fed to its brood. The beekeeper must detect uninvited guests in time, catch and destroy individuals of hornets and wasps, as well as their nests. For prevention, females are caught in the spring.
The most famous pest of bees among wasps is the philant, or bee wolf. This is a solitary and very strong earthen wasp. As a larva, it feeds on the paralyzed bees brought by the female philanthus, and as an adult, it feeds on the nectar of flowers or the contents of the goiter of the foraging bee. The wasp lives for 24-30 days and kills about a hundred bees in its life. The main method of wasp control is the complete destruction of philanthropists and their nests around the apiary.
Other insect pests
There are other insects related to bee pests. You also need to know about them in order to protect your apiary when found. Here is a short description of the most common insect enemies:
- ham skin beetles settle in the hive and live all summer, laying larvae and eating bee bread, frames, insulation material and brood;
- earwigs live in a heater, feeding on corpses and bee bread, which destroys honeycombs, they are also carriers of infectious diseases;
- spiders hunt for bees, weaving a web not far from the house either in the hive itself or on the flower, they can destroy up to 7 individuals per day;
- various beetles (about 20 species), whose relatives are the pretend thief, feed on insulation, bee bread, honeycombs, and wooden parts of the hive.
Kozheedov survive with sulfur dioxide, having previously evicted the bees. The earwig is removed along with the insulation. Spiders are destroyed along with cobwebs and cocoons. It must be remembered that spiders are harmless pests. In addition to harm, they also bring benefits by killing wasps and hornets.
Animals
Some representatives of the animal world are also enemies of bees, because they destroy beehives, eat honey and entire families. Therefore, the beekeeper must be able to prevent danger and protect the houses from the penetration of ill-wishers.
Rodents
Different types of rodents live everywhere and eat different food. They are potential pests for the apiary. Mice and shrews enter the hives in autumn and can live there all winter, using bee bread, honey, and larvae as food. Mice are field, brownie, forest, and they all cause damage to the bee family, settling in her house. Bees can’t stand mouse smell and won’t live in a hive where a mouse has lived.
To protect against mice, so that they do not gnaw at the honeycombs, do not destroy the house from the inside, they set traps, spread the poisoned bait in the room where the hives hibernate.
Jerzy
Harmless hedgehogs are also pests in the apiary. They penetrate the hives at night, when everyone is resting after a hard day’s work and cannot provide a worthy confrontation to the predator. Prefer to eat hedgehogs healthy bees and subpestilence. You can’t kill hedgehogs, they are not considered big pests of the national economy. The only way to fight against hedgehogs can be to install houses at a height of more than 35 cm above the ground and create good ventilation in the hive so that the bees do not come out to the arrivals, where the hedgehog hunter will be waiting for them.
Reptiles
The harm from frogs brought by eating bees is insignificant compared to the benefits that they bring by hunting for various insects. Therefore, they are not considered pests. And there are no special measures to combat frogs. It is only necessary to install the apiary away from the water in a well-lit area and on high stands.
But lizards and toads feel great in the apiary, deftly hunting for beekeeping workers who have become heavy from the burden, and are considered pests. During the day, a lizard can catch 15-20 insects, and a toad even more. The beekeeper must not kill these animals. Bypassing the apiary, he can catch the lizard and take it away from the hives. She can’t find her way back.
Birds
Most birds, destroying various insects, thereby benefit. But there are those among them who actively hunt for bees. And they are considered pests.
These birds include:
- bee-eater, who prefers wasps, bumblebees, bees;
- the gray shrike is a very voracious bee hunter.
The methods of combating pest birds are the same – scaring away through the amplifier with recorded cries of birds, changing the location of the apiary.
preventive measures
An experienced beekeeper knows that ensuring the health and well-being of bees is the key to successful beekeeping. Therefore, he always monitors the behavior of his wards in order to take timely action when dangerous pests are detected. In maintaining the successful conduct of beekeeping, regular preventive measures help:
- keeping only strong bee colonies;
- sufficient provision of bees with food and warmth;
- periodic cleaning, drying, airing and repair of hives;
- drying the heater in the sun;
- lubrication of the legs of the houses in grease or kerosene;
- installation of an apiary away from water and anthills;
- periodic disinsection of the insulating material;
- treatment of hives with sulfur dioxide;
- installation of special barriers or nets on the entrances to prevent the penetration of pests;
- mowing the grass under the houses.
Conclusion
The damage that enemies of bees can cause to beekeeping can be irreparable and result in the death of bee colonies. To prevent this from happening, you need to know all potential pests and take the necessary measures in time. Then the apiary will bring not only benefits to the beekeeper, but also the pleasure of the work done.
