On Wed, 11 Oct 1995, Daniel J. Salemson wrote:
 
> I once saw a video about skunks munching on bees at night.  Apparently, the
> skunks will knock on the hive until bees fly out, then gulp down our little
> ladies.  One of the tell-tale signs of the skunks' activities, as I recall,
> is the presence of large numbers of mutilated bees around the hive.  Anyone
> have direct experience with skunks feasting on their hives?
>
> Dan Salemson
> Chapel Hill, North Carolina
>
Skunks are a regular and expensive problem in my area.  They scratch at
the entrance and often remove an entrance reducer in the process.  When
the bees come out they are eaten.  When the hives are wrapped with
insulation and polythene the skunks can damage or even completely destroy
these wrapes.  Not nice :(
 
However, I have never seen bunches of mutilated bees around the hive.
 
 
 
Eric Abell                           email: [log in to unmask]
Gibbons, AB, T0A 1N0
Canada
(403) 998 3143
>