In recent years I have noticed an increase in feral colonies, in fact within 2 miles of this computer I know of more feral colonies than managed hives. Some have been in the same place for many years. I welcome this as evidence that they are learning/evolving to cope with Varroa and will, in the breeding season, be spreading their genes to my new queens.  Also their swarms tend, for some unknown reason, to arrive in my garden where I don't keep bees.

It is likely that the new hornets, when, inevitably, they arrive will wipe out the ferals as there won't be beekeepers to defend them. However I do have a top bar hive with a circular entrance a little over an inch in diameter in which the bees, in the wasp (yellow jacket to Americans) season, provide a propolis screen to reduce the entrance to one, easily defendable, bee-way. I have also seen this where bees were using a broken conical escape of a CDB hive as a main entrance.

So there is hope.

Chris

 

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