Beverley
Beekeepers' Association
The
local Beekeeping Association for East Yorkshire
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Bees
and Wasps
The
group of insects called the hymenoptera include, among
others, bees and wasps. Many species visit our gardens
causing some difficulties in their recognition.
Bumble
bees
(bombus)
tend to be larger than honeybees. They are generally hairy
with combinations of white / black / yellow / orange
striped bodies. They can sting but hardly ever do.
There are six species readily seen in this area at various
times from very early spring onwards. They can withstand
colder conditions than honeybees and so are seen earlier in
the season and earlier and later in the day. The queen bee
hibernates in dry cool places over winter (garden sheds
etc.). In spring she starts a colony in a dry bank of soil,
bird box, inside an air brick or in a compost heap. The
queen raises the first batch of young. These become workers
and tend subsequent young. Colonies are much small
numbering in tens rather than hundreds and thousands. Males
and fertile females are raised towards the end of summer.
The colony dies off in autumn with only the newly mated
queens surviving.
Bumblebees are protected by law and their nests should not
be disturbed.
Solitary
bees
are much more common than imagined and incorporate a huge
number of species, including miners, masons, and
leaf-cutter bees. They are similar in size, or smaller than
honeybees. As their name suggests they are not colonial,
although they can nest close together in condominiums. In
the spring the female lays her eggs singly with individual
stores of food in burrows in soil or crevices. The young
develop without assistance, mate and the females
over-winter to repeat the cycle. It is said they can not
sting.
Wasps
come in all shapes and sizes. All are mainly carnivorous
and generally feed on aphids and other 'garden pests'.
Wasps are therefore a good thing to have in your garden -
except in late summer when our common wasps
(vespula)
go out in search of all things sweet. Wasps often try to
rob honeybee colonies at this time.
They are colonial with a life cycle very similar to
bumblebees. Their nests are made of papier mâché and
situated in shrubs, compost heaps or roof cavities. Colony
populations are numbered in the hundreds. They can sting
and defend their nests vigorously. The related hornet
(vespa
crabro)
is rarely a problem although they are known to take
honeybees as prey. It is slightly larger than
vespula
with a brown rather than black head.
Honeybees
in this area are usually hybrids. The DNA of our native
dark European honeybee (apis
mellifera
mellifera)
has been mixed with introduced subspecies (races) from
other parts of Europe by beekeepers trying to improve some
characteristics or other. The native bee was large and
dark, adapted for our climate but not a prolific honey
gatherer and with an aggressive temperament.
A.
m. carnica,
the Carniolan honeybee originated in Austria/Slovenia. It
is small grey/brown and is said to be hardy and gentle but
swarms readily.
A.
m. caucasica,
the Caucasian honeybee originated in south Russia. Similar
in appearance to
a. m. carnica,
it is also gentle but produces prodigious quantities of
propolis.
A.
m. lingusica,
the Italian honeybee is small with distinct yellow stripes.
They are very gentle and prolific honey gatherers but they
need a huge quantity of winter stores to see them through
to spring.