>>Seems the vineyard owner claims the bees have distroyed his grape crop. My partner explained the bees only came after birds have pecked holes in his grapes and do not cause the holes.

Does the vineyard owner protect the grapes from birds with plastic netting?  The vineyards on Long Island do.  I have 3 grape vines at the house where I keep bees.  I see honey bees sometimes taking up juice from injured grape fruit BUT what stands out is hordes of feasting hornets, yellow jackets, flies and other insects.  Squirels, raccoons (I'd find lots of empty grape skins on the ground in the morning), birds do most of the grape damage in my little 'vineyard' unless I put on plastic netting.  And I do.

Perhaps a large vineyard with a lot of bleeding fruit attracts lots of honey bees.  I doubt very much honey bees jaws can break the tough grape skin.  I have been bitten - and I don't mean stung - by honey bees when inspecting hives and the bees bite is on the weak side.  I ignore it most of the time; the bite is not painful and does not leave a mark.

I have not seen bumble bees on grapes but I read that bumble bees will sometimes bite the base of deep flowers to get access to nectar.  Honey bees will use these bite holes to get the nectar.  This is the case with false nettle and other deep-flowered plants.

>>The vineyard owner has said he is putting out poison honey today to stop the problem.

Is this legal?? He could be sued for killing someone's 'livestock.'

>>Any suggestions on  the problem?

I'd check to see if honey bees are indeed on the grapes and, if they are and I had the time, I'd mark 100 or so bees with bright paint in the vineyard and then see if I see them at the hive entrances in my bee yard.  Even show the bees in the bee yard to the grape owner.

Even if the hives were moved several miles away, the vineyard owner would continue to have damaged grapes, in my opinion, as the primary root cause of damaged grapes would remain unaddressed.  Honey bees merely share in the spoils...

Good luck!

Waldemar
LI, NY

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