What's eating my bees?

[Bob Wilson]

I found 11 bee abdomens on top of one hive and 6 on the one next to it. No other bee parts. What do you suppose killed them?
I saw a Summer Tanager a few days ago. I had to look it up to figure out what kind of bird it was. My bird book said they love to eat bees. But in parts, leaving the abdomen? I have seen no dragon flies yet.

[JurassicApiary]

I believe your bird suspicion is on point. Sounds like it waited on top of the hives and plucked them as they were coming and going, hence the debris piles. Perhaps the bird species knows better than to eat the abdomen to avoid a stinger in the throat...

I see birds and lizards hang out near my hives frequently.


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[Bob Wilson]

it is true that when we first saw the bird, it was standing on top of one of my swarm boxes.

[BeeMaster2]

Bob,
I do not worry about birds eating my bees. We have bluebirds here year around, probably because we have a half a dozen bluebird houses all around our property. They eat bees but not enough to worry about.
Same with e dragonflies. The big concern with both is when your queens are making their maiden flights. Then they can bee a real problem. We had one queen breeder in GA that had to move their mating hives due to dragonflies.
Jim Altmiller

[van from Arkansas]

Tanangers, cat birds, dragon fly, robber fly, European hornet: they all eat my bees.  I hate the robber fly the most, just can?t stand that darn fly.

[paus]

I found what I think are robber flies eating my bees.  I posted about this and someone was kind enough to post a picture,  It resembles a dragon fly.

[Ben Framed]

I found what I think are robber flies eating my bees.  I posted about this and someone was kind enough to post a picture,  It resembles a dragon fly.

I think it was Member or Mr van that posted the picture?

[FloridaGardener]

A friend had fly problems from chickens next door.  Problem was solved by hanging fly paper UNDER the hive stand.  Bess don't fly low.  Flies seek out the sticky-paper. 

Several weeks later: no bees on the sticky-paper... hardly any flies in the air now... and time for fresh fly paper.

[van from Arkansas]

Florida, a robber fly is the size of a red wasp, about one inch in length.  They are a predator fly, nothing at all like the common fly.  The robber fly will eat a common fly, and bees and anything else the robber wishes as they are faster than most flying insects.

[FloridaGardener]

 
Well, it's going to take some big fly-paper then!