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I have a nuc that I set out a couple of days ago with a swarm lure stapled to the lid. Its a bit early but pollen is coming on hard around here and everyone in a three county radius is installing packages this weekend. Figure I might get lucky early on.
I walked by it today and thought I saw something fly out. I figured something was checking it out and waited a few minutes. No further activity. So I decide to take a peek.
opcorn:
I pull off the outer cover and I spied something in the corner of the inner cover. It looked like the beginning of a mud dauber's nest, little smaller than a marble and sort of oblong. Me thinks to myself "me, you should dispatch that to let the wasps know they aren't welcome at this establishment!". So I took my finger and crushed the dried mud vessel.
To my astonishment, it burst and fine dry pollen exploded out of it. Definitely not a mud dauber. Whatever it is, it isn't what I want to catch. Maybe I need to juice up the lure a bit.
So I run back to the house and grab some lemongrass EO. I pulled the outer cover off again and put a couple of drops inside and closed it up. As I walked away I saw a very fat bee loaded with pollen enter. I waited, and waited and waited.
Nothing. Whatever it was sure wasn't coming out. So I've been wondering if the pollen-laden bee was the culprit for the mud sack of pollen in between the covers. Could this have been a solitary type bee taking residence not in the ground as usual, but in my nuc?
I walked by it today and thought I saw something fly out. I figured something was checking it out and waited a few minutes. No further activity. So I decide to take a peek.
opcorn:I pull off the outer cover and I spied something in the corner of the inner cover. It looked like the beginning of a mud dauber's nest, little smaller than a marble and sort of oblong. Me thinks to myself "me, you should dispatch that to let the wasps know they aren't welcome at this establishment!". So I took my finger and crushed the dried mud vessel.
To my astonishment, it burst and fine dry pollen exploded out of it. Definitely not a mud dauber. Whatever it is, it isn't what I want to catch. Maybe I need to juice up the lure a bit.
So I run back to the house and grab some lemongrass EO. I pulled the outer cover off again and put a couple of drops inside and closed it up. As I walked away I saw a very fat bee loaded with pollen enter. I waited, and waited and waited.
Nothing. Whatever it was sure wasn't coming out. So I've been wondering if the pollen-laden bee was the culprit for the mud sack of pollen in between the covers. Could this have been a solitary type bee taking residence not in the ground as usual, but in my nuc?
