I have many of these trying to get in my hives. I had a weaker hive that I had started feeding and noticed these got into the hive and up in the top hive feeder so I'm now combining two weaker hives. I'm also putting in an entrance reducer and plugging the cork hole.
In anycase, I'm just trying to understand what type of bee they are and if there is anything I can do. They did quite a bit of damage to the one hive and I'm trying to figure out what I could've done to prevent it.
Yellow jackets are especially troublesome at this time of the year. See if you can find the nest(s) and knock them out there as well. Traps help around the hive. I had a lot of trouble with them last year...not so much this year.
Yep! I lost two hives from yellow jackets this year. I was away for a little over two weeks and was not able to reduce the entrance in time. I had noticed a few yellow jackets attempting entry and reduced the entrance some, but not enough. Went from strong hives to one dead in that short time. The other was so small it had no chance. I tried to nurse it but should have combined it. Lesson learned.
that my friend is no yellow jacket. It is what some call a Japanese hornet. I have seen them capture a bee mid flight, they can be kept out of the hive by making the entrance as small as a worker bee no larger.
that my friend is no yellow jacket. It is what some call a Japanese hornet. I have seen them capture a bee mid flight, they can be kept out of the hive by making the entrance as small as a worker bee no larger.
Sorry Seamus but that aint no Japanese Hornet. Japanese hornets don`t have those hooked yellow stripes. Their stripes are solid. And they are huge. I mean really huge... like 2 inches in length. Check this out:
I thought they were larger... but I didn't know they were that big.
also I have had problems the last month and a half. So I put out a top feeder on the back side of my hives and they went to town on that and alot of yellow jackets drowned. Helped the weaker have time to build up a little more. I reduced the entrance and they don't get in that I can see.
Not Japanese but European hornet. I killed a whole nest of them not more than 50 yards from my apiary just over a month ago. I still see a few but most are gone. I have been able to get a few of them in the yellow jacket traps but a tennis racket also works well.
Just do a google image search on Yellowjackets, then both European hornets, and Japanese hornets. You will see that they are definetly Yellowjackets.
They are a wasp, and there are several diferent species.
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