Weird inspection (for this beginner) today. Couple things. The top lid, which still has the plug in, was absolutely covered in black ants and larvae. Hiding them from predators and the rain no doubt. Each time I go out there, I dispatch of them and the next there are more even more ants and more larvae. I am considering putting around the legs on the ground some diatomaceous earth to try and disuade them from doing this. What do you think?
Also, and perhaps it is the heat we have had this last couple weeks, maybe the ants, who knows, these bees were absolutely coming for me. I mean…they weren’t just flying around. They were smacking into me and getting into any crack they could find in my outfit. They eventually did make it into my boot, which was quite exciting. I inspected the hive and did not see them as crowded. I did not find any queen cells or signs they wanted to swarm. No hive beetles or anything. I smoked them like crazy but they just kept coming back. First time I was actually feeling a little scared to be honest.
Same with me in northern Virginia area, but not the ants, just the bee behavior. Also a first year keeper. Do you have the feet with the oil cups? That may help too. Likely they are collecting sticky stuff from the outside. I had ants early on when I fed by bees 1:1 syrup and some spilled and crystalized, other than that no real ant problem. Try petroleum jelly around the feet and check for any vegetation that is touching the hive. Are they in the colony? If so you have a weak colony and likely need to close down the entrance. Some online advice is to use cinnamon around the top cover or plant mint.
My girls are temperamental during an inspection and they bump a little bit when doing an external inspection from time to time. I am thinking about requeening next year if this persists over my next couple inspections.
I have not tried the oil cups. I have not tried any way of mitigating pests so far. Those days are over I would say. I will try the petroleum jelly since that I can do immediately. My hive is standing on rock in the middle of a grassy field. Grass does get up on the legs and such but I can bring something down there to keep it knocked down going forward. Over time, since bringing this nuc home, they have gotten more cantankerous.
They have access to plenty of pollen right now. They still have some clover, plenty of wildflowers, and I have pollenator sunflowers planted on the other side of the property for them to get and they are blooming big time. I see them in there all day and sometimes taking naps in the flowers which is freaking funny.
I’m thinking the temperament may also be a function of the seasonal change. I’d love some more experienced keepers to weigh in on that. We just passed the solstice and days are getting shorter. The girls know that and are stocking for winter. It is a race for them so any disturbance is life or death for them. It may also be different sperm from the queen she is using. Don’t know if they can “select” what they use when laying but I do know they mate with multiple drones and store it. One drone may be a bit more aggressive. Again would love a more experienced keeper to weigh in.
There’s a few things that can make a normally gentle colony become overly protective. The nectar from some plants such as citrus. The behaviour usually returns to normal once that flow has passed.
Weather conditions or tomorrow’s weather can get them titchy. Bees are very sensitive to wearher changes long before we notice. That’s also temporary.
I suspect your colony has nasty genetics. While they’re a small nuc sized colony, they don’t have the numbers to show their true colours. When they fill a couple of boxes, look out!
The solution is to replace the queen with known gentle genetics. I wouldn’t buy her from the supplier of your nuc. It might be too late in the season, so plan the coo for next spring and book your queen now. Stock runs out fast in spring when everyone is splitting or requeening. Booking early puts you ahead in the cue.
Nasty colonies are often good survivors, so they’re more likely to make it through winter than a late requeened one.
My experience with ants invading a colony has been what you have experienced i.e. the temperament of the bees turns aggressive. The ants feed on developing larvae\honey and the guard bees seem powerless, for the most part, to prevent this predatory ant behavior. If the beekeeper fails to act, the honeybee colony will become more aggressive and then totally become demoralized and collapse.
The best solution I have found for ant control is a powder 50\50 mixture of granulated sugar and borax.
In your case, you could sprinkle some on the inner cover or find the nearby ant hill/log nest and apply it directly. You may have to follow up with a second treatment… just avoid direct contact with the honeybees.
I have seen ants and honeybees co-exist. Once wood ants riddled a Styrofoam insulated lid on one of my hives and made it their home…warm and dry. But wood ants are larger and have different requirements than those ruthless small black ants you are dealing with.
