STEVE PHILLIPS wrote:
>
> I've always had a purple martin house, but since I've started keeping
> bees I wonder if I need to get rid of the martin house.   Since I've started
> keeping bees I've noted a marked increase in the number of martins that
> hang out on the power lines near my martin house.  (I counted over 40
> one day.)  Do martins eat bees?  Can martins have an effect on hive
> population or does a healthy hive raise enough brood that it isn't a
> problem?  Are the martins likely to get the queen on her mating flight?
 
Hi Steve -
 
I don't know first hand but the commercial beekeeper that I have gotten nucs from in
the past told me that purple martins are notorious for catching queens out on mating
flights and that he has lost ?-numbers of queens due to this.
 
-Barry
 
--
Barry Birkey
West Chicago, Illinois  USA
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http://www.birkey.com