# Hornets eating my bees!



## Dr.Wax (Apr 30, 2008)

You really need to get yourself a trap on your weakest hives for SHB. I think checkmite is approved only for mites- I have not heard anything about it being used for beetles. I would recommend the West SHB trap- I have found it to be extremely effective. I had one placed in a hive which only had about 6 frames and caught 113 adults in five days. 

Yes, if you have weak hives they will be vulnerable to every pest and disease you can think of. The key is nursing them along until they can become strong by combining hives if you can and reducing the space they must defend if not.


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## dhood (May 26, 2008)

Thanks, I am ordering the beetle traps, but all the suppliers sell this product (Checkmite) for use as SHB control, I have never heard of anyone that used it. Its kind of expensive but if anyone knows how it works before I order it it would be appriciated. I think one hive could use this product if it works well.

This is the link to Rossmans (Checkmite) labeled for SHB

http://www.gabees.com/store/product...d=258&osCsid=c9796cc70d2d3adcf8f5b9806f825f85

Also, is there some deterent for hornets, or will they learn to defend themselves by becoming more aggressive?


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## golddust-twins (Sep 8, 2007)

*Hornet Traps*

*dhood,*

_*What kind or hornets are they? Are they yellow and black or are they black with a white face. Last year was a very bad year in my area for yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets. I made some traps and set they around the perimeter of my property. I even bought some and hung them from my fence around the bee yard. I caught thousands. Do a google search for a homemade trap, you'll save money and can make them bigger than the ones you can buy in the store. Here is one *_*http://www.ehow.com/how_1740_make-trap-yellow.html** - There are more on line - I started with just a soda bottle and saw it really worked within a week I was using the tubs the cat littler comes in. Because of the traps I put out last year I have only seen one or two hornets this year.*
 

Corinne


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## dhood (May 26, 2008)

golddust-twins, I'm not sure. I looked on the internet to identify them. The closest picture I found was the Asian Gaint Hornet, which it said there not in the US. But, I saw two of them go in an empty bucket, I set a piece of plywood on top to keep them in. In a couple of days(after they die) I will go and get them so I can identify them. I knew about the traps, but I was afraid the honeybees would go in them also. My son left a half full A&W rootbeer beside the hives one day, when I saw it a few days later it was full of dead bees that had drowned. Whatever kind of hornet these are they catch honeybees in midair and flyoff with them. They also, land on the landing board and pick them up like its a buffet.


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## golddust-twins (Sep 8, 2007)

dhood,

Check out the link I gave you....just don't use the banana. I too was worried about the bees being attracted to the traps. So I left the banana out. It still caught the hornets. We don't have the hornets you describe here on the Southern Oregon Coast. Good Luck...hope you identify them.

Corinne


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## golddust-twins (Sep 8, 2007)

*Hornets From Hell???*

dhood

If this is what they look like.....http://www.badspiderbites.com/giant-hornet/  Not good. National Geographic calls them the Hornets From Hell. 

Corinne


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## IndianaHoney (Jun 5, 2006)

Why not just fill it with Coca Cola? Yellow Jackets love pop, and bees don't.


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## dhood (May 26, 2008)

Why not just fill it with Coca Cola? Yellow Jackets love pop, and bees don't. 

reply- That is true, it would most likely work for yellowjackets. And although I have plenty of them around. The bees seem to be able to defend themselves pretty good from them. But would this attract a bee eating hornet? I havent seen these things stop chasing the bees to even look at the syrup feeders.


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## golddust-twins (Sep 8, 2007)

dhood, I think these hornets are looking for meat not sugar. You might want to set a trap out with meat or fish like tuna for the lure. If you do hang the meat make sure the bottom of the bucket, bottle, what ever you use for the trap has liquid in it so the hornets will drown. 

Corinne


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## dhood (May 26, 2008)

*Identified "European Hornets"*

I caught two of the hornets today, I think I have identified them as European Hornets. They are still eating honeybees. I will be looking for the nest this week.

I can't get a decent picture from the digital camera I have but,this is the best I could do.

Here is a picture of them.

http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm371/wdhood/hornet013.jpg

http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm371/wdhood/hornet012.jpg


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## golddust-twins (Sep 8, 2007)

dhood,

Those look nasty to me. Good luck in finding the nest. Take a blow tourch and suit up--don't forget your veil & gloves .

Corinne


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## hummingberd (Aug 26, 2006)

so, I wanted to share this thread from awhile back. This guy was hilarious. I could totally picture him rigging bacon to a plastic soda bottle. 

Seems to work for him... I'd go with his concoction of "soapy water, tuna, sugar water something on the menu for everyone"

ROFLMAO!!! 

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187303&highlight=hornets+wasps


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## jeannie (Dec 26, 2006)

*me too!!!*

I have the same hornet, they are usually out in the woods deep but will come around if people live out. This year we have nest near our hives but they have not attempted to bother the bees. Their main source of food are flies. I have read that some beekeeps encourage them to stay because they eat wax moths at night. now if you find the hive there are about 300-700 in it with each having a stinger of 1/4 inch long. A bee suit is of no use. I have found our nest sight but are just leaving them alone for now. They will eat some but usually <1%, but to me that is alot. good luck


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## golddust-twins (Sep 8, 2007)

*Great One*

>http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...=hornets+wasps 

hummingberd, That's great  .

Corinne


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

If this is a hornet that you can not readily identify contact your ag office. If this hornet is not suppose to be in your area the ag office, usda etc should know. They tend to monitor these type of things and sometimes take measures to control them so they do not get a foot hold in an area they are not suppose to be in especially if they tend to be invasive or a threat to a commodity.


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## aszalan (Sep 16, 2007)

Try this
http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC2510.htm


> Homemade Traps: A crude yellow jacket trap is made by hanging a raw fish or piece of liver (slightly diced on the exterior) by string about 1 to 2 inches above a container of detergent and water. The detergent will act as a wetting agent and eliminate surface tension which will improve trap efficiency. Foraging yellow jackets are attracted to the raw meat and will often become overloaded with food and fall into the water and drown. This method of yellow jacket control is not as efficient as nest elimination but it may help reduce the population to acceptable levels.
> 
> "Bee Lining" for Fish Bait: Bee lining is a method by which a person may locate a yellow jacket nest by observing foragers as they return to their colony with food. A freshly caught small fish should be diced slightly on the exterior with a knife and hung in a tree about 5 to 6 feet off the ground. Foraging yellow jackets will be attracted to the raw fish and will chew off a tiny particle of the meat. By close observation, a person can follow the flight line of the yellow jacket back to her nest. The foraging yellow jacket will normally make a "bee line" straight to the nest which is often no more than 1,000 yards from the food source. Fishermen have been known to use this procedure to discover yellow jacket nests and use the grub as excellent fish bait.


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## aszalan (Sep 16, 2007)

dhood said:


> Here is a picture of them.
> 
> http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm371/wdhood/hornet013.jpg
> 
> http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm371/wdhood/hornet012.jpg


Based on your photos, it looks like you have European hornets, Vespa crabro. 
http://entomology.uark.edu/museum/crabro.html


> The European hornet is easily distinguished from our common yellowjackets. It has a large, robust body with a characteristic black and orange striped abdomen. The head, parts of the thorax, and front of the abdomen are patterned in reddish brown coloration. The head is swollen behind the eyes, and ocelli (the small, simple eyes on top of the head) are remote from the rear margin of the head.
> 
> Workers usually hunt active insects, which they masticate and feed to the larvae in the cells of the nest combs.* They have been known to raid bee hives, taking the bees and their larvae and pupae as food, but leaving the honey. *
> 
> As its common name implies, the European hornet is native to central and western Europe, but it is never found north of the 63rd parallel. In North America, it was first found in New York State in the mid 1800s. During the following century, it spread slowly through southern New England and south through New Jersey and Pennsylvania to Virginia and North Carolina. By 1973, outlying populations were detected in scattered localities in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.In the late 1970’s and early 1980s it spread rapidly across Kentucky. By the early 1980s, isolated reports revealed that it covered the area from Maine and southeastern Canada south to North Carolina and west to Michigan and Tennessee, with only scattered occurrences in states south of Tennessee and North Carolina, and for Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and adjacent areas north of Missouri and west of the Mississippi River


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

*nest*



jeannie said:


> I have the same hornet, they are usually out in the woods deep but will come around if people live out. This year we have nest near our hives but they have not attempted to bother the bees. Their main source of food are flies. I have read that some beekeeps encourage them to stay because they eat wax moths at night. now if you find the hive there are about 300-700 in it with each having a stinger of 1/4 inch long. A bee suit is of no use. I have found our nest sight but are just leaving them alone for now. They will eat some but usually <1%, but to me that is alot. good luck


jeannie: could you post a pic of the nest or give us a decription of it? thanks,mike


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## Dr.Wax (Apr 30, 2008)

Hmm. I just saw a large hornet in my back yard about a dozen feet from my hives. It looked very similar to the picture I've seen of the European hornet. It had the black and yellow stripes and red legs.

The only problem with that is I spotted it digging a small crater in the ground. I have been seeing these holes in my lawn where the grass is pulled out of about a 2 inch diameter area and have been wondering what created them. Mystery solved. The hole doesn't lead anywhere and I assume they are gathering mud but I thought hornets made nests made of paper. 

What would they be doing gathering mud? These things are much larger than mud daubers or yellow jackets.


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## aszalan (Sep 16, 2007)

Dr.Wax said:


> Hmm. I just saw a large hornet in my back yard about a dozen feet from my hives. It looked very similar to the picture I've seen of the European hornet. It had the black and yellow stripes and red legs.
> 
> The only problem with that is I spotted it digging a small crater in the ground. I have been seeing these holes in my lawn where the grass is pulled out of about a 2 inch diameter area and have been wondering what created them. Mystery solved. The hole doesn't lead anywhere and I assume they are gathering mud but I thought hornets made nests made of paper.
> 
> What would they be doing gathering mud? These things are much larger than mud daubers or yellow jackets.


It could be cicada killers, which are similar looking to European hornets. They are much larger than yellow jackets and make holes in the ground where they lay their eggs on cicadas that they have caught. Here in Arkansas they are very active right now. http://entomology.uark.edu/museum/cickiller.html


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## Dr.Wax (Apr 30, 2008)

> It could be cicada killers, which are similar looking to European hornets.


That might be them. I thought that squirrels were digging these holes- they look like the work of a larger animal, not an insect due to their size. I wish I could find a dead one to get a positive ID.

We certainly have no shortage of cicadas to dine on here. Sometimes in late summer when they starting buzzing all at once and hit that rising crescendo I wish I had a decibel meter because the sound is actually loud enough to make my ears hurt.


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## aszalan (Sep 16, 2007)

Dr.Wax said:


> That might be them. I thought that squirrels were digging these holes- they look like the work of a larger animal, not an insect due to their size. I wish I could find a dead one to get a positive ID.


yes the holes and the mounds of dirt caused by cicada killers can be quite large, here are a couple of examples

http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/turf/images/CicadaKillerDamage_large.jpg
http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/turf/images/CicadaKillerWaspMound_large.jpg


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## Veracity (May 3, 2008)

dhood said:


> I caught two of the hornets today, I think I have identified them as European Hornets. They are still eating honeybees. I will be looking for the nest this week.
> 
> I can't get a decent picture from the digital camera I have but,this is the best I could do.
> 
> ...



I did shoot some video of this insect attacking my bees...

He comes around regularly but today was the 1st time I have seen him pluck bees in mid air.

...I will try for some stills and close up video for more clarity and post...


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*Wasps & Hornets*

dhood

If you want to help your bees out a little reduce entrance to an inch or smaller if weak.


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## dhood (May 26, 2008)

Tom G. Laury said- If you want to help your bees out a little reduce entrance to an inch or smaller if weak. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Tom, I did this as soon as they appeared to be a problem, but they would catch the foragers as they were about to land on the entrance, also they would pick them off while waiting in line to get in. So I took them back off. But, a few days after my last post here, we had a very heavy rain, storm, and several trees fell within 30 yds. from the hives. Since then I havn't seen more than 8 in the time I was there, and none within the last few days. I'm thinking that their nest was damaged by the heavy rain. 
Beesource thanks for all the suggestions, my hives seem to be doing better than ever, growing in population, and my queenless hive has raised up a big fat queen that is laying much better than the mother hive. They also seem to be better at defending themselves against yellowjackets.


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## Noel V (Jun 17, 2008)

Anyone tried? http://www.squidoo.com/hornet_trap


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## Jeffzhear (Dec 2, 2006)

I've noticed the increase in Yellow-jackets and some yellow faced hornets picking up dead bees in front of the hives in my yards. They keep my one yard which is on a slate patio cleaned up from dead bees. So far, they're not bothering the hives.

As for hornets snagging bees out of the air, I've never seen that and am glad. Good luck with that!


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## Veracity (May 3, 2008)

Jeffzhear said:


> As for hornets snagging bees out of the air, I've never seen that and am glad. Good luck with that!


As much as I dsilike seeing anything happen to our bees... it is just amaizing to watch this insect at work, fearless and bold. ...I would think at this juncture I do not have any control issues.

Thanks, V


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## justin (Jun 16, 2007)

yeah i have been trapping yellowjackets and watching the baldfaced hornets hunt.they wont go for a yellowjacket but the get above a honeybee and either knock them to the ground or grab and drag them down.i watched one knock down 2 bees,sting each and then go after a 3rd.i stomped one and when i came back out later there was another one right beside it.i was coming thru the gate in the fence around my hive with my 4 year old on my heels.the one beside the dead hornet came straight for my face and i kncked my son over as i went flailing over him.he was in the middle of the gate.he was screaming bloody murder so i picked him up and when i did the hornet landed on my shoulder and put it to me.i couldn't really do anything.i turned my head and tried to blow this thing out of my shoulder.it flew away unharmed.my son didn't reallt understand when i told him i thought the whole thing was pretty funny.i tried to explain that a 6'5" 220 pound guy kicking his son out of the way to run from a little bug was funny.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*Home made trap.*

Heat a 1/4" bolt, melt 4 holes 4" off the bottom of a plastic liter, soda container,
Place the holes at 12:00, 6:00, 9:00 and 3:00.
Pour a 2" level of coke syrup in the bottom and hang it where they can find it.
You cab hang a piece of meat inside to bait them in also.
I find them eating any syrup that I may have spilled on the ground and I step on them. They will rob granulated sugar out in the open too.
Good Luck,
Ernie Lucas Apiaries


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## Flyman (Jun 11, 2007)

Read this post yesterday and got to thinking about it last night. It dawned on me that it may be Cicada Killers. Went to post and found out it was not an original thought. Have never seen one bother a hive though. Cicadas are pretty funny when the dog has them in their mouth. It really gives them a buzz.

Tom


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## beeMT (Jul 4, 2013)

:-(


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