I’ve had entrance reducers on all my hives for the past few weeks, and it doesn’t look like I can remove them any time soon because the wasps (a.k.a. yellow jackets) are everywhere. They’re constantly trying to get into the hives. Here’s a photo showing about six wasps blocking a ventilation hole (most of the screened holes in our ventilator rims are filled with wasps):
Wasps filling a screened ventilation hole. (Oct. 9, 2011.)
The next photo isn’t pretty. You’ve been warned.
It’s a wasp decapitating a drone:
A wasp decapitating a drone. (Oct. 9, 2011.)
The drones are still being evicted from the hives in massive numbers (see the Expulsion of the Drones video). They’re piling up dead outside the hives. It’s a feast for the yellow jackets. I’ll be happy when the first cold spell kills them all off. Wannabe urban beekeepers take heed: A small backyard or a balcony swarming with wasps isn’t much fun, and the hives will attract wasps in a big way.
set a bottle half filed with jam mixed with water. It will atract yellow jackets but not bees and they will drown in it. Helps to reduce yellow jackets population.