How to keep the sparrows from eating my bees?

2Sox · May 20, 2018, 09:25:35 PM

There is a rather busy sparrow nesting area in a building near my hives. The are dining on my bees much too often and I'd like to know any ideas you have about how to keep them away. Thanks.

beepro · May 21, 2018, 12:31:55 AM

You either move the hives to another location away from the birds or put a net
large enough to enclose the hives inside. The net has to be big enough for the bees to fly through but
small enough so that the birds cannot get inside. Then plant a bee garden inside the
net next to the hives.

Another option is to grow one production hive or 2 by donating cap brood frames from the
other supporting nuc hives. This way the hive population can be maintain in the
production hive(s) no matter how many bees are lost. Can you make a 5 level deep hive?

iddee · May 21, 2018, 02:56:36 AM

I have never known sparrows to eat worker bees. Maybe drones, and maybe dead or dieing workers, but not healthy workers. I think you need to look for a different problem if you are losing bees in significant numbers.

Michael Bush · May 21, 2018, 09:52:39 AM

I'm with iddee. I've never seen sparrows eat live bees. I have seen swallows when I think they were eating bees. I don't think sparrows are an issue and I like swallows too much to make it an issue...

2Sox · May 21, 2018, 11:23:27 AM

Quote from: Michael Bush on May 21, 2018, 09:52:39 AM
I'm with iddee. I've never seen sparrows eat live bees. I have seen swallows when I think they were eating bees. I don't think sparrows are an issue and I like swallows too much to make it an issue...

I didn't think so either. We all learn something every day! But I've watched a lone sparrow or three, from my window above, jump up onto the landing board and pluck them up. These are no Bee Eaters. It's clearly opportunistic feeding for these birds. They look down from their nesting area and see a snack. I'm certainly not losing a significant numbers of bees - I'm estimating maybe 50+ a day, at most, from my four colonies - but it is a nuisance. I was thinking about rigging up some small hardware cloth barrier that can be easily removable.

And yes they do snack on the dead bees on the ground, that are clearly visible on the concrete. This is Queens, NYC.

I've seen on Amazon that there are decoys available - Owls, flying hawks, "Scare tape". I was wondering what you all thought of those.

iddee · May 21, 2018, 01:00:34 PM

I think they are picking up SHB, wax moths, ants, drones, dead bees, and other bugs, but not healthy workers. When I had hives and chickens in the yard, the chickens worked the hives daily. I never had SHB or wax moths in the hives. Now and then I would see a young chicken grab a bite and shake it's head violently. I never saw the same chicken do it twice. They learn fast.

2Sox · May 21, 2018, 04:01:22 PM

Quote from: iddee on May 21, 2018, 01:00:34 PM
I think they are picking up SHB, wax moths, ants, drones, dead bees, and other bugs, but not healthy workers. When I had hives and chickens in the yard, the chickens worked the hives daily. I never had SHB or wax moths in the hives. Now and then I would see a young chicken grab a bite and shake it's head violently. I never saw the same chicken do it twice. They learn fast.

I have the hives on concrete. Never saw a SHB in one of my hives. I wish they would eat wax moths - which are making somewhat of a comeback. My sparrow neighbors are not selective - they eat drones and workers alike. I've even seen them grab them in mid flight. But they do, as I said, get the dead ones laying around too.

Beeboy01 · May 21, 2018, 11:48:07 PM

I've seen Blue Jays work a hive by snatching the workers out of the air. I also have seen the little brown house wrens around my hives. The hide along side of the hive and grab any bees that crawl by.

BeeMaster2 · May 22, 2018, 04:33:28 AM

We have Blue Birds here at my farm. They are bug eaters primarily. I have installed at least 7 nesting boxes for them, almost all are within sight of my apiary. I do not worry how many bees they catch. The queens are laying from 2 to 3 thousand eggs per day. With 4 hives, I would of worry about it. They are probably picking up dead bees and removed larvae off the landing boards anyway.
Jim

Acebird · May 22, 2018, 08:38:39 AM

My only concern about birds preying on live bees would be virgins on mating flights.

Michael Bush · May 22, 2018, 09:39:25 AM

Any individual animal can make up their own mind. I once had squirrels that learned to eat my chickens' eggs. But I don't think that is the norm...

Bamboo · May 22, 2018, 09:53:24 AM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on May 22, 2018, 04:33:28 AM
The queens are laying from 2 to 3 thousand eggs per day.

You must have super queens to be laying 3000 eggs per day!! I have seen figures ranging from 1500 to 2000 but never 3000.
Or were you taking artistic licence?

paus · May 22, 2018, 10:21:32 AM

I posted before that I have seen Pileated Woodpeckers eating the dead bees in front of a hive.

2Sox · May 22, 2018, 10:58:10 AM

Quote from: Acebird on May 22, 2018, 08:38:39 AM
My only concern about birds preying on live bees would be virgins on mating flights.

Yep. That definitely has crossed my mind.

I just ordered this. Curious to see how it works.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XXPF32J/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Michael Bush · May 22, 2018, 11:04:56 AM

>You must have super queens to be laying 3000 eggs per day!!

"As the queen is capable of adapting the sex of the eggs to the cells, so she is also able to adapt the number of eggs to the requirements of the stock, and to circumstances in general. When a colony is weak and the weather cool and unfavourable she only lays a few hundred eggs daily; but in populous colonies, and when pasture is plentiful, she deposits thousands. Under favourable circumstances a fertile queen lays as many as 3000 eggs a-day; of which any one may convince himself by simply putting a swarm into a hive with empty combs, or inserting empty combs in the brood-nest of a stock, and counting the eggs in the cells some days after."--Jan Dzierzon, Rational Bee-Keeping, 1882 English edition, Pg 18

BeeMaster2 · May 22, 2018, 11:30:34 AM

Thanks Michael for verifying that.
Jim

2Sox · May 22, 2018, 11:45:14 AM

Quote from: Michael Bush on May 22, 2018, 11:04:56 AM
>You must have super queens to be laying 3000 eggs per day!!

"As the queen is capable of adapting the sex of the eggs to the cells, so she is also able to adapt the number of eggs to the requirements of the stock, and to circumstances in general. When a colony is weak and the weather cool and unfavourable she only lays a few hundred eggs daily; but in populous colonies, and when pasture is plentiful, she deposits thousands. Under favourable circumstances a fertile queen lays as many as 3000 eggs a-day; of which any one may convince himself by simply putting a swarm into a hive with empty combs, or inserting empty combs in the brood-nest of a stock, and counting the eggs in the cells some days after."--Jan Dzierzon, Rational Bee-Keeping, 1882 English edition, Pg 18

Nice!

2Sox · May 22, 2018, 01:52:50 PM

Quote from: 2Sox on May 22, 2018, 10:58:10 AM
Quote from: Acebird on May 22, 2018, 08:38:39 AM
My only concern about birds preying on live bees would be virgins on mating flights.

Yep. That definitely has crossed my mind.

I just ordered this. Curious to see how it works.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XXPF32J/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Put several strips of this "scare tape" out earlier. Waiting to see how it works.

Dabbler · May 22, 2018, 04:28:57 PM

Quote from: 2Sox on May 22, 2018, 10:58:10 AM
Quote from: Acebird on May 22, 2018, 08:38:39 AM
My only concern about birds preying on live bees would be virgins on mating flights.

Yep. That definitely has crossed my mind.

I just ordered this. Curious to see how it works.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XXPF32J/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I wonder if hanging old CD's on a string would also work. . . . gotta be some recycle/reuse use for those things.

Bamboo · May 22, 2018, 06:10:05 PM

Quote from: Michael Bush on May 22, 2018, 11:04:56 AM
>You must have super queens to be laying 3000 eggs per day!!

"As the queen is capable of adapting the sex of the eggs to the cells, so she is also able to adapt the number of eggs to the requirements of the stock, and to circumstances in general. When a colony is weak and the weather cool and unfavourable she only lays a few hundred eggs daily; but in populous colonies, and when pasture is plentiful, she deposits thousands. Under favourable circumstances a fertile queen lays as many as 3000 eggs a-day; of which any one may convince himself by simply putting a swarm into a hive with empty combs, or inserting empty combs in the brood-nest of a stock, and counting the eggs in the cells some days after."--Jan Dzierzon, Rational Bee-Keeping, 1882 English edition, Pg 18

So you are telling me the latest research on queen laying capabilities was done 136 years ago? You don't have anything more recent? The flat earth society still had a lot of members back then