Enemy of the Apidea...

[Neils]

I moved an apidea into our back garden the other day. I suspect it's queenless but I digress.

I had a quick peek tonight just to see what they were up to in the moonlight and saw a little congregation at the entrance.

Closer inspection showed it to be a snail, handily blocking the entrance, and an angry hum of trapped bees inside.

I'd be a liar if I said I paid too much attention to whether the snail was still alive or not, but it is now removed from the entrance.

[Jon]

Mine have been plagued with of slugs all summer.

[Mellifera Crofter]

I don't (yet) have any Apideas, but I do find the occasional dried-out slug in a hive. Have they been stung to death?
Kitta

[Jon]

Bees usually avoid slugs and the slime trails they leave.
The main enemy of the apidea at the moment is the wasp, and mice are a curse in winter.
A friend of mine found a dead pygmy shrew in his apidea a while back which has got to be a contender for the most bizarre thing found in an apidea.
He said he counted nearly 20 stings protruding from it so it obviously made a bad call sniffing around for a free meal.