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Thread: Rebecca and Ged Marshall on the beeb

  1. #111

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    Quote Originally Posted by SDM View Post
    I get the same timings too.They definitely run lines up and down my hives and circles around the mating nucs. Sadly this year I didnt have the option of using another site.
    Good to know that 8 out of 10 insects eaten by swallows are flies and that the other 2 are not necessarily bees. Also - the usual shelter and aspect that we all try to give our apiaries encourages all sorts of insect concentrations. It is not just bees that prefer such warm sheltered areas. Casual observation shows blue-bottles for example, sunning themselves on my hive landing boards - it is hardly surprising that swallows have lunch here. We should not assume that they are after queens. It is easy to make spurious correlations based on a correlation between two variables.

  2. #112

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    I might have drawn them off by doing a bit of mowing of the grass
    Stopped when rain started and the buzzards started circling 🐒

  3. #113

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    Quote Originally Posted by alancooper View Post
    Good to know that 8 out of 10 insects eaten by swallows are flies and that the other 2 are not necessarily bees. Also - the usual shelter and aspect that we all try to give our apiaries encourages all sorts of insect concentrations. It is not just bees that prefer such warm sheltered areas. Casual observation shows blue-bottles for example, sunning themselves on my hive landing boards - it is hardly surprising that swallows have lunch here. We should not assume that they are after queens. It is easy to make spurious correlations based on a correlation between two variables.
    I believe they specialise in drones and queens as they prefer larger insects and mating altitude suits swallows preference too. They also have a soft pallet and wouldn't want the workers stinging away.
    Beautiful for sure, I watched an amazing chase the other day with a dragon fly that seemed to be the same size as the swallow.
    Last edited by SDM; 10-08-2015 at 09:05 PM.

  4. #114

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    I'm glad my bees were in bed yesterday evening as I was treated to a show by thousands of swallows over my place.
    It's a hell of a sight, but left me worried for my girls for sure.

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