Become a warrior for your bees and learn the signs of the natural bee predators that prey on your honey bees and eat your honey or hives. Being vigilant in checking on your hives will help you recognize signs of predators early to keep your honey and bees healthy and safe.
The Importance of Knowing Bee Predators
We raise honey bees for the pollination of our crops and the health benefits of the honey. We enjoy extracting honey to consume and share with others. But we also raise honey bees because we want to do our part in protecting our earth.
Honeybees are crucial to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Plants need honey bees to survive and thrive. Our gardens, fruit trees, and more depend on honey bees. That is why we do our part by setting up DIY bee watering stations around our property.
We have learned much about raising honey bees, from discovering the best equipment to capturing a bee swarm. We love sharing our trials, errors, successes, and even failures.
We had two hives that got taken out by wax moths. They took over and ate all the honey, wax and everything! Hundreds and hundreds of wax moth larvae filled the bee frames.
We had to quickly pull the frames out and burn them to get rid of the wax moth larvae and protect our other hives. Learning to defend against bee predators, like wax moths, is vital to keeping bees.
6 Common Bee Predators in the Wild
Just like any animal you raise on the farm, honey bees have natural predators to consider. Depending on the part of the world you live in, you will notice different predators ranging from birds, like bee eaters, to insects as common as a crab spider. Here are a few common enemies to be aware of.
Bears
True to the stereotypes and cartoons, bears in the wild LOVE honey. In pursuit of honey, bears can destroy hive equipment and steal your honeycombs and honey. Once they find a hive, they tend to come back repeatedly. If you live in a bear habitat, fencing in your hives with electric fences helps ward off bears.
Mites
The varroa mite is a deadly enemy to honey bees. These parasites attach themselves to the outside of adult bees and eat their fat. They also feed on the prepupae and the pupae.
This is a good place to see if your hive is infested with mites. You will see small reddish-brown mites attached to the pupae.
Research the different methods to monitor and treat varroa mites and take action. Internal parasites called tracheal mites are also a danger to honey bees. These mites attach to the bees’ trachea, eventually killing adult bees.
Wax Moths
Lesser wax moths and greater wax moths threaten the hive by taking over beeswax combs. They eat beeswax, pollen, larval remains, cocoon silk, etc., and they will even take over stored bee frames. Store your frames in cold storage to keep wax moths away.
If you notice wax moths in your frames, quickly take care of the problem. They will eventually take over everything in the hive by laying their eggs there. The best defense against wax moths is a healthy hive. They tend to take over already compromised bee hives.
Mice
Mice like to build nests under bee hives. They damage the hive by chewing on the combs and peeing on them. This will deter bees from laying eggs in the area near mice. In some situations, the bees will choose to leave a mouse-infested hive.
Skunks
Skunks actually enjoy eating bees. They will stalk a hive at night, tear it open, and eat as many bees as possible. Once they have found a hive, they will return to consume more bees. They can wipe out a colony of bees over time and ruin your equipment.
Wasps and Other Insects
Wasps and the small hive beetle do little damage to healthy hives. But they can take over an already compromised or unhealthy hive. A wasp sometimes captures and eats bees and is interested in eating honey.
If you notice that wasps or beetles begin to appear more and more, research approaches to controlling these pests. One way is to set up wasp traps around your property. Make sure you purchase a trap that only attracts wasps and hornets, not honey bees.
Tips to Protect Against Bee Predators
- Start Right – Make sure all your bee frames and equipment are clean from the start. Only put your bees in a second-hand hive if you clean it thoroughly. You could even store the equipment in a walk-in refrigerator or cold room to make sure there are no traces of pests on your hive equipment.
- Clean Equipment Regularly – Clean your smokers, all extracting tools, honey jars, lids, and everything before and between use. Store all apiary equipment clean.
- Keep the Hive Off the Ground – The general recommendation is to keep your hive at least 10 to 18 inches off the ground. There are several benefits to doing this, but one benefit is that skunks do not like to get stung on their bellies, so they will be reluctant to stretch high to reach a bee hive.
- Place Your Hive in the Right Location – Placing your hive where it receives sunlight for part or most of the day helps reduce the chance of certain pests impacting the hive. For example, hive beetles prefer shade to sun. They tend to leave hives in the sun alone.
- Monitor Your Hive – Don’t be afraid to open up your hive and look in it. Catching problems early is key to saving your hive. Check on your hive regularly in the spring, summer, and fall. Learn what healthy hives look like and the behavior of healthy colonies. If you notice something unusual, do your best to troubleshoot and get to the root of the issue.
- Fence Your Hive – Fencing in your hive can deter pests like skunks, raccoons, and bears. Adding an electric wire around the top of the fence helps keep bears out.
- Use a Mouse Guard – Attach a piece of hardware cloth to the opening of the hive. It wards off mice and other larger predators from entering the hive.
- Treat for Varroa Mites – There are many different methods for treating your hive for varroa mites, including an alcohol wash, powdered sugar roll, sticky board, or drone uncapping. The alcohol wash strategy is supposed to be the most effective strategy for identifying mites and preventing them.
- Practice Hive Health Strategies – Healthy bee colonies do a lot to protect themselves. The best management tool you have against predators is to promote hive health. For example, keep a clean water source near your hive and plant a variety of flowers and plant life nearby. Expand your hive when necessary. Regularly replace your combs and provide a new brood comb foundation in 3-year intervals. Some people requeen their colonies every two or three years. And you can devise a barrier plan to keep hives safe from spreading disease to one another.
- Raise Chickens – If you are raising chickens, use their help to eat insects that may harm your hive. Free ranging your chickens around the farm can help with insect control.
- Keep Livestock Guardian Dogs – Livestock guardian dogs can help scare away predators like bears, raccoons, and skunks from your farm. Just remember to properly care for your dogs by grooming your livestock guardian dogs, learning how to prevent bloat in your dogs, and how to prevent fleas and ticks in your dogs.
Give Bee Keeping a Try
We hope you decide to try your hand at raising honey bees. So, if our triumphs and/or misfortunes can help you, we want to share. It’s so important that we learn together, as a community, how to impact our environment positively and live a more sustainable lifestyle.
We love coming together at our annual Okie Homesteading Expo here in Oklahoma, where our fellow farmers and homesteaders can teach one another skills and traditions that lead to sustainable living to pass on to our neighbors and future generations. We want to impart confidence to those of us who are out there trying.
On the Farm
Guard dog Mojo is who we rely on to keep our bees safe from nocturnal predators. He’s a good boy and sure does do a good job.
