Rebecca and Ged Marshall on the beeb

[SDM]

I thought it was confined to the OSR areas, where bives are often found conveniently ready to go stacked on the trailers they were brought on.
Checked some very slow to mate mating nucs yesterday and 3 out of 4 were queenlessness, that's lousy odds on loosing them to mating flights, but I'm pretty sure the culprit is the 3 families of swallows that nested in the barn, I'm going to have to discourage them next year.The only saving grace is that they were probably duds anyway (like most of mine this year)

[alancooper]

I'm going to have to discourage them next year.

Would that be "discourage" as in destroy? - or discourage as in greater barn biosecurity?

[SDM]

I leave the doors open for them usually, but they access through the vents if the doors are closed, so I'm afraid I'll have to put mesh up on the vents this winter.
I love having them there but they are definitely targeting the bees

[The Drone Ranger]

I leave the doors open for them usually, but they access through the vents if the doors are closed, so I'm afraid I'll have to put mesh up on the vents this winter.
I love having them there but they are definitely targeting the bees

I have a couple of swallow families every year
This year has been poor on the lost queen and mating fronts
I'm not sure they have much to do with it although they might get some bees along with all their other insects

RSPB say
"Parent swallows feed a wide variety of insects to their nestlings — including wasps. Flies are certainly favourites, particularly for first broods. Eight out of every 10 insects eaten are flies. Surprisingly, most are large including greenbottles, bluebottles and horseflies."

So lets bump up the availability of flies and hope they take out a few wasps as well

[prakel]

RSPB say
"Parent swallows feed a wide variety of insects to their nestlings — including wasps. Flies are certainly favourites, particularly for first broods. Eight out of every 10 insects eaten are flies. Surprisingly, most are large including greenbottles, bluebottles and horseflies."

In normal circumstances this is no doubt correct but I wonder whether they've observed swallows living next to a fast-queen take away? I've noticed that they definitely seem to concentrate efforts around our mating hives mid morning and again during the afternoon. We also seem to have higher losses from those boxes than ones on a site about a mile away. Just got to grow a few extra queens to balance things out .

[SDM]

In normal circumstances this is no doubt correct but I wonder whether they've observed swallows living next to a fast-queen take away? I've noticed that they definitely seem to concentrate efforts around our mating hives mid morning and again during the afternoon. We also seem to have higher losses from those boxes than ones on a site about a mile away. Just got to grow a few extra queens to balance things out .

I think we may just have agreed on something !! 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.

[The Drone Ranger]

I'll have to pin up notice next to the nest warning them about anti social activities

[gavin]

I've noticed that they definitely seem to concentrate efforts around our mating hives mid morning and again during the afternoon. We also seem to have higher losses from those boxes than ones on a site about a mile away. Just got to grow a few extra queens to balance things out .

Do these boxes have a lot of drone activity? With their clumsy flight and juicy chunkiness (and lack of a sting) I'd have thought they'd be the prime targets.

[prakel]

Do these boxes have a lot of drone activity? With their clumsy flight and juicy chunkiness (and lack of a sting) I'd have thought they'd be the prime targets.

It's a good thought but no, mainly mating hives (and none of that behaviour which might suggest the existence of AVM). I'm sure that it's simply serendipity. Bees and swifts living next to each other.

edit: swallows...

[The Drone Ranger]

I was worried when the neonic ban went on because the farmers might have had to spray more
On here though there are folk experiencing all the same problems who don't have any oil seed rape around
Then I thought was it apistan, which I used for the first time in years this Winter past, for the overwinter nucs
But its most likely the weather and the lack of understanding / attention to feeding up for drone production
Has anyone any comments on the Neopol or the other pollen one Candypolline?
Are they needed / beneficial ?