Bait Hive
At the end of a warm sunny week, I inspect the bait hive for the wild bee colony. I’m ever hopeful that they will swarm soon. The wild bees are busy bringing in whin pollen late afternoon. I walk 140 meters away and sit for 10 minutes on the wall in front of the bait hive. The oak tree is now fully-leafed and shady, and the forest cool and peaceful. Soon a scout bee from somewhere comes to investigate the hive. I too get a whiff of the lemongrass oil which attracts it. Last week I replenished it by rubbing some around the entrance. This bee investigates for around 5 minutes but doesn’t hang around for photographs departing quickly into the forest.
Scouting
Scout bee behaviour is explained in amazing detail in chapter 3 of Honeybee Democracy. Prior to swarming, scout bees go house hunting for the ideal new home and will make many visits to the same site (around 25) checking out the attributes in great detail. Mostly they walk around the inside of the cavity but also make some short hopping flights. They are assessing, among other features, the nest cavity volume capacity favouring 40 liters average.
Plan
I’ll be visiting regularly from now on, and when I see bees coming and going and bringing in pollen I’ll know that my box has been approved as a good property.
Disappearing Insects
Good News
North of Scotland
Sutherland
Travelling inland from Brora to Lairg, via Rogart, this week I’m surprised to find the windscreen spattered with dead insects. Instantly, I’m back in time to the days when you spent ages cleaning your windscreen after any journey. Of course, this reflects the type of non-intensive farming, with little or no pesticide use, practiced in this rugged crofting region of Scotland.
St Mark’s Fly
I see lots of St Mark’s flies, Bibio marci, which are true flies from the Diptera order. These are dark hairy flies with trailing back legs resembling parachutes. They appear around St Mark’s day on 25th April and are common over farmlands where the young males venture forth leaving the females hanging round on vegetation. I get loads on my apple trees at home and they’re very useful pollinators, especially of fruit trees. So, it’s good news for insects in some parts of the country.
Thank you, Ann, for the update on your bait hive. Also for the beautiful photo of the hill farm in Sutherland. The image of the hills and the stone walls around the pastures is stunning. Hope you will soon see a flurry of scouting activity at your bait hive.