Help from Birds of Prey

The bee hive in the fall is full of bees, brood, and food. However, by mid-winter, the hive is partially empty. Short-lived summer bees are gone; drones have been ejected; the year’s last brood has emerged; and a significant amount of the food stores have been eaten. The cluster of bees is slowly moving upward in the hive. As the bees eat their honey stores, they leave empty cells. The hive may have half of its cells empty. The empty air-filled cells make excellent insulation from cold winter drafts. Actually, little wind blows through the parallel sheets of bee hive comb.

If they are able to enter, mice find bee hives a welcoming home in the winter. Mice are known to build nests in the lower corners of bee hives. They are actually a greater nuisance to beekeepers than to the bees. If worker bees find a mouse inside the hive, they often sting it to death. Since they can’t drag the mouse outside, they entomb it in propolis. This prevents the spread of odor and bacteria throughout the hive. Beekeepers reduce the size of hive entrances in the winter to help keep mice out of the hive. Rodent populations, like those of many insects, expand widely every few years. This year, large populations of field mice and rats were observed over a wide area. Hawks and owls, birds of prey, are effective natural predators of rodents. Red-tailed hawks are common hunters throughout North America. Easily identified by their bright white breast feathers, they often perch on a low tree limb or fence post while waiting for a rodent to move. Then, they swoop down and grab their prey with sharp talons. The red-tailed hawk in today’s photo is frequently seen hunting on the ground in one Peace Bee Farm bee yard. Today, I found four nesting boxes occupied by sleeping screech owls, highly efficient night-time mouse catchers. Year-around, birds of prey help to control bee yard rodent pests.

--Richard

Great Backyard Bird Count

Another opportunity arises for anyone to serve as a citizen scientist on the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count. Each year the four-day bird count is held in mid-February on the leading edge of the bird migration season. Counting birds simultaneously across the continental US, Hawaii, and Canada, scientists follow trends in population numbers and bird migration patterns. This year’s bird count will be conducted February 18 through 21. Participation information and results of previous bird counts is at www.birdsource.org.

This past year participants from the 50 US states and Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories found 602 species of birds in 11 million observations. The most observed bird was the American robin. The Canada goose, snow goose, American crow, and European starling followed. Some rare bird observations were made in 2010. A new species was sighted off the coast of San Diego; and a finch was found in Ontario, Canada far from its native range of the Rocky Mountains. The Great Backyard Bird count is effective in monitoring population trends. In 1999, one thousand Eurasian collared doves, immigrants to Florida from the Caribbean, were observed in nine states. Last year, 14 thousand doves were found in 39 states. I first spotted these new doves in my backyard about three years ago. Larger than mourning doves, these unwary doves with a dark ring marking the neck often hold steady for easy viewing. Experts review the checklists of bird observations, and computer analysis helps detect errors. For example, last year I reported seeing several hundred herring gulls. The program flagged this as an unusually large number of sightings of this species for Arkansas in February. They asked me if I could verify my sighting. Indeed the birds were ring-billed gulls. Today’s picture shows a screech owl squinting in the sunlight. Rita and I found three of the small owls living in wood duck nesting boxes here on Peace Farm. I’ll dust off my binoculars and camera for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

--Richard

Biological and Cultural Pest Controls

Integrated Pest Management involves controlling pests by using a combination of measures to reduce their numbers. IPM techniques may be considered to be mechanical, like Small Hive Beetle trapping, or they may be biological, cultural, or chemical. There is a growing movement toward chemical-free beekeeping. While the concept is attractive, the beekeeper must be aware that in the short term there may be considerable colony losses, mainly due to parasitic Varroa mites and the viral diseases they vector. Even after one has begun a beekeeping program not relying on chemicals there may be more losses than expected. The benefit of chemical-free beekeeping is pests don’t build resistance to the treatments.

Here are some Integrated Pest Management techniques that may be considered as biological and cultural controls: Frames of drone brood may be removed and frozen to kill Varroa mites developing in the brood. Place hives in full sun; damp soil in the shade supports Small Hive Beetles. Take measures to reduce drift and robbing. Both spread diseases. Limit the use of common feeding, another source of disease spread. Exploit weaknesses in pest life cycles. For example, Small Hive Beetles must leave the hive to pupate in the soil. Beneficial nematodes kill Small Hive Beetle pupae in the soil. Allow beneficial insects and other animals to do their part. Ants eat Varroa mites that fall through screened bottom boards. Bats eat wax moths at night when they are most active. Replace old, dark comb; because it can hold chemicals and spores of American foul brood and Nosema. Dust bees with powdered sugar to reduce Varroa mites. To further reduce mites, use naturally-based alternatives to chemicals, such as thymol-based essential oil products or organic acids. Don’t use the “hard” chemicals except as a last resort, applying according to labeled instructions to reduce mite resistance. Provide vegetable oil and sugar patties for tracheal mites. Don’t spill Small Hive Beetle larvae on the ground; bag slimed frames. Today’s photo: biological control of mice at Peace Bee Farm, a screech owl.
--Richard