Vladimir Ptacek wrote:
> They [wasps] fly
> round the hives searching for any dead or weak honey bee (worker or drone)
> which they kill and cut into portions. Those parts of the bee body
> containing muscles (thorax) are then brought to wasp nests and fed to
> larvae.
 
I've often watched this behaviour myself but my observations are
slightly different.  Occasionally a wasp will attempt to remove a
complete bee.  Usually she is unsuccessful but sometimes she manages to
get airborn.  (Whether she actually gets the bee all the way back to the
nest is another matter.)  More often the bee is cut up but almost always
it is the head that is removed and taken back to the nest.  I don't
think I've ever seen the thorax removed in this way.
 
Another thing I've observed is that, with my hives at least, once a wasp
has gained access she is no longer harassed by the bees.  Instead she
may wander freely inside the hive.  On most of my hives the inner roof
is made of a sheet of transparent plastic.  If I remove the main roof
quietly at this time of year I often see a wasp walking on the top bars
of the frames.  It used to worry me when I first started keeping bees.
Now I'm not concerned.  There are never many of them.  I'm sure the
damage they do is negligable.
 
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Malcolm Roe                            Phone  :  +44 442 230000 ext 5104
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