One of the early bits of information my mentor imparted was that skunks
eat bees, and the way to discourage them was to raise hives such that the
skunk's belly was exposed to attack by bees. As a result I've always
placed my hives on old shipping pallets...never had any skunk porblems,
though other folk I know have, and the bottom boards don't suffer from
moisture either.
 
Jim
 
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
>
>
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