16 June 07
Bees And Bugs
Yesterday we discovered that a swarm of bees has settled on the nectarine tree in the front yard and has built a hive. When our landlord’s son the beekeeper learns of this it will be collected for sure but for now it is quite the edifice.
This morning Pica found these handsome bugs on the kale. She thought they might be eating the aphids but I was able to find a picture of one in the new Kaufman insect guide and no, they feed on cabbages and their relatives. The bug is a harlequin bug, Murgantia histrionica.
Previous: QSLing Next: Pipevine Swallowtail
Do you have problems with invasive species of bees in California? We had a similar swarm of bees forming a hive in the cavity of our house walls a few years ago. I thought that if someone could capture the queen, they would have a free hive. After ringing the authorities to suggest that someone might want to help us get rid of the bees, we were told that they were probably “pest bees” who were destroying our native bee population and that we had to call the pest exterminators (which I hated doing!). I had no idea that we had such a problem with invasive species of bees until then. I believe we actually have 10 species of native bee in Australia. I find them fascinating and wouldn’t mind exploring apiary a bit more.
Jenny — honey bees are not native to the New World but are not considered “pests” — the African bees are what have people quaking in their boots here, but the predicted invasion north hasn’t quite happened (they are frost intolerant and we still get frosts that can be bad).
There are lots of species of native bee here in California, but many of them are in real trouble. It’s definitely worth helping your natives if you can — but be sure you’re targeting the right species!
The harlequin bugs Numenius photographed are moving north from Mexico and are definitely pests, rather than pest-eaters, so I had no compunction about going out there in a pair of latex gloves yesterday evening and squishing as many as I could (they’re stinkbugs, not something you want to come into the house smelling of).
Since I was able to determine that we have a hive in our wall, I have found another hive outside the house, seemingly a different species of bees than the quiet, gentle brown ones in the wall…. Go figure, since all this talk of bees dying, I have seen more bees around my house than ever before, here in Northern California!