Bees vs. Hummingbirds - Houston, we have a problem...
Don Bruder
No, the bees aren't losing. Neither are the hummingbirds. But the bees
going to the hummingbird feeders are causing some considerable friction.
(to the point where it's beginning to look like gassing the hive and
giving up beekeeping entirely might be the only way I keep the roof over
my head)
The situation:
Me - humble beekeeping newbie (second season with a live hive) with one
hive, populated by a swarm thrown from a feral colony living in a 30-40
foot high, almost totally inaccessible (You couldn't pay me enough to
climb that tree, and anybody with more than two brain-cells rubbing
together is going to take one look and say the same - it's a treacherous
monster) branch of an old oak tree a few hundred feet away from my
hive's location.
The "opposition" - a disabled lady who feeds the hummingbirds. And also
happens to be my landlady. Worse, she was once stung (by a stinging
insect of unknown type - PROBABLY not a honeybee, but nobody, not even
her, can say with certainty) and had a severe allergic-style reaction.
Classic anaphylaxis. Consequently, she's got a fairly high-level
"OHMYGAWDIT'SABEE!!!!!" mindset. She was stung by a honeybee (one from
my hive? One from the feral colony? One from 10 miles away? Who knows -
I sure don't) once last year when she mashed it while turning off a
leaky water tap that it was drinking from. She came to me with the
stinger still embedded, I used the old "flick it out with the blade of a
knife" method and got rid of it, and aside from the classic "Ouch!
That's no fun!" concept, there was no discernable reaction.
Now, she's in a huff about the bees coming to the hummingbird feeders.
I **THINK** that during/after the sting last year, I managed to get it
through her head that honeybees are basically harmless unless provoked,
and that her allergic reaction years ago was probably to a wasp or
yellowjacket sting, (especially with the supporting evidence of her
having no unusual reaction to the honeybee sting) that the two types of
venom are unrelated, and that generally, someone allergic to a wasp
sting probably won't "cross-react" to a honeybee sting, but... <shrug>
How can you know for sure if someone is convinced, right?
Meanwhile, she's screaming bloody murder about the bees coming to the
hummingbird feeders, and I need to figure out a way to restore something
resembling tranquility. Preferably without either myself or the bees
getting evicted.
Any suggestions? I'm already feeding the bees, but as I'm sure everybody
haunting this group knows, they're going to go where they please. Our
first big flow of the season appears to be over - whatever it was that
they were working a couple-few weeks ago has apparently dried up, since
activity has dropped off some (or perhaps it's the nasty weather we've
been having) and the girls are looking for something to eat. The
hummingbird feeders are, of course, perfect targets, and since the hive
(never mind the feral colony in the oak tree, which is even closer...
Short of dropping that tree, which simply isn't going to happen, I can
see no practical way to take them out of the picture) and the feeders
are separated by no more than a couple hundred feet, they're all the
more "prime".
With the ferals sitting right there as they are, even gassing out my
hive isn't going to stop the traffic, obviously. So I'm at wit's end.
Anybody got any ideas that don't involved getting rid of the bees,
getting rid of the bird feeders, or finding myself a new place to live?
--
Don Bruder - dak...@sonic.net <--- Preferred Email - unmunged, SpamAssassinated
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HarrisonRW
>going to the hummingbird feeders are causing some considerable friction.
There are hummingbird feeders that have bee guards on them.
Perhaps if you exchanged the feeder she has for one of them she would get off
the warpath
You should be able to get them at a brid feed store or large garden center.
David C. Heinsohn
that getting rid of you and your hive won't change anything. Oh, and how about a
honey bribe?
David
--
People sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to
do violence on their behalf......George Orwell.
Don Bruder
"David C. Heinsohn" <kd...@bulldognet.com> wrote:
> Using a good pair of binoculars show her the feral hive.
Not neccesary. She's just as aware of the fact that it's there as I am.
> Might help her understand that getting rid of you and your hive won't
> change anything.
I'm starting to wonder if she's just got a hair up her butt, and what
she REALLY wants gone is ME, with the bees just being a convenient
excuse.
> Oh, and how about a honey bribe?
Already in the plans, but since last year was my first season and they
were busy getting established, I've got nothing available as "currency"
yet. Total "take" from the hive last fall was a roughly 3x5 inch corner
out of one frame. Good stuff, but I didn'twant to leave 'em short over
the winter, doncha know...
Don Bruder
harri...@aol.com (HarrisonRW) wrote:
> >No, the bees aren't losing. Neither are the hummingbirds. But the bees
> >going to the hummingbird feeders are causing some considerable friction.
>
> There are hummingbird feeders that have bee guards on them.
>
> Perhaps if you exchanged the feeder she has for one of them she would get off
> the warpath
Good idea... I'll have to look into that.
> You should be able to get them at a brid feed store or large garden center.
Hmmmm... I wonder if the local wally-world (with decent-sized
gardencenter attached) has them? Only one way to find out...
Thanks for the idea.
BiG Orange
attacts bees. Paint the flower red, and the bees will not notice the feeder
as much.
beekeep
I made the mistake of painting some of my hives red and the bees got
lost. Others just flew into the hive and knocked themselves out! I
damn near went broke buying asprin for their headaches.
beekeep